


Sicheng

by The_Sassiest_Trixster



Series: NCT [14]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Angels & Demons, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angel/Demon Relationship, Inspired by Mulan (1998), M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-15 14:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 27,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29685378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Sassiest_Trixster/pseuds/The_Sassiest_Trixster
Summary: Fearful that his ailing father will be drafted into Astria's demon army, Dong Sicheng decides takes his place, even though he knows the punishment for being discovered as an angel in an all demon army is death. However, Sicheng deems his father's life more important, so he joins the army and makes some unlikely friends in the process.  Accompanied by Zhong Chenle, one of the Seo family guardian angels, and Park Jisung, guardian angel in training, Sicheng uses his smarts to help fight against the angels that wish to see harm come to Astria and unconsciously falls in love with the army’s handsome demon captain, Nakamoto Yuta.
Relationships: Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Dong Si Cheng | WinWin/Nakamoto Yuta, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Lee Taeyong, Lee Jeno/Na Jaemin, Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le, Wong Kun Hang | Hendery/Xiao De Jun | Xiao Jun
Series: NCT [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1668625
Comments: 83
Kudos: 55





	1. On the Wall

One late evening, on the Great Wall of Astria, a young demon warrior by the name of Daniel Wong marched, proudly standing guard over all of Astria. As he was marching, a bird of prey flew behind him and knocked off his helmet with a loud screech before landing on the spiked tip of the Imperial flag. Daniel hissed in pain as he felt the back of his head for blood but when he pulled his hand away, he found that there was none. He then looked at the bird with curiosity and confusion, especially when he saw the bird turn on the spike and call out to the darkened mountain to his left. He frowned and looked to his left when suddenly a spear appeared out of the sky and landed at his feet, making him look up with scared wide eyes.

“We’re under attack! Light the signal!" he shouted as he ran towards the top of the guard post where they would light the signal if someone was to invade the wall. Just as he was about to climb the ladder, an angel soldier descended from the heavens and landed before him, brandishing a large sword. The angel then swiped at him with a sword but Daniel was too fast, ducking under the attack before heading towards the ladder, scurrying to the top where a large vat of oil inside of a ceramic bowl was placed. As he grabbed the torch and spun around, a tall young man with light skin, blonde hair with a black undercut, and brown eyes descended from the sky and landed on the platform before him, drawing up to his full height, large black leather wings splayed out from his back. Daniel stared at him with wide eyes before he looked at the torch in his hand and drew his arm back, throwing the torch into the vat of oil, watching as it ignited with flames. The figure in front of the vat, known as Qian Kun, turned and watched as all the other posts soon lit their vats as well, creating a chain signal.

“Now all of Atria knows you’re here,” Daniel growled, glaring at Kun through the flames. Kun turned to the side and broke off the imperial flag that was on the post and turned towards the fire, holding the material over the flames, watching it catch fire.

“Perfect,” he purred, eyes glowing red in the moonlight.

~*~*~*~*~

After they were informed of what happened on the Great Wall, General Nakamoto and two of his soldiers burst through the Imperial doors and knelt before and knelt before the Emperor.

“Your Majesty, the Angels have crossed our northern border” he declared. The Emperor’s eyes widened, and his scribe, Xian Feng, stepped forward.

“Impossible! No one can get through our walls!” he exclaimed. General Nakamoto gave him a look.

“You fool. They went over our walls” he snarled before he looked at the Emperor.

“Kun is leading them” he continued. The Emperor’s eyes widened briefly again before they narrowed in thought.

“We’ll set up defenses around your palace immediately,” General Nakamoto offered. The Emperor shook his head as he stood, an air of authority surrounding him.

“No. Send your troops to protect our people” he ordered before looking over at Xian Feng.

“Xian Feng” he called out.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Xian Feng replied, bowing.

“Deliver conscription notices throughout all the provinces. Call up reserves, and as many new recruits as possible” the Emperor declared. General Nakamoto stood up from the ground and stood tall.

“Forgive me, but I believe my troops can stop him” he stated. The Emperor shook his head again, his eyes filled with wisdom beyond his young years.

“I won’t take any chances. A single grain of meal can tip the scale; one man may be the difference between victory and defeat” he prophesied. General Nakamoto bowed; the Emperor was the emperor for a reason so he would trust him and follow whatever orders he gave.


	2. Pray Some More

Meanwhile, down in the rural areas of Astria, a tall young man with light skin, dark brown hair, and brown eyes was sitting in the middle of his garden, pure white wings spread wide from his back as he looked up towards the sky, eyes shut as he soaked up the warm sun. He stayed there for a little while, just enjoying the warmth of the sun on his face and wings before he pushed himself off the ground and headed back inside, pulling his wings against his back as he walked through the doorway and towards his room. Once he was inside, he walked over to his bed and sat down, addressing the open book before him. 

“I have no idea what I’m look at” he muttered before he grabbed a calligraphy pen and began writing down the characters carefully on his arm. Just as he finished the last word, a rooster crowed, making him look up in horror.

“Oh no!” he exclaimed as he jumped off his bed and rushed to his door.

“Bella!” he called out, running out of his doorway, blowing on the ink so that it would dry. He rushed into the second room, still calling.

“Bella! Bella! Bell-Ah! There you are” he cooed with a smile as he looked down at a small dog that was sleeping on the floor. The little dog opened it eyes and when it saw the man, it jumped to its feet, eagerly panting.

“Who’s the smartest doggie in the world?” the man cooed. The dog yipped happily as the man picked her up and turned her towards him.

“Come on girl! Wanna help me not get killed by Johnny this morning?” the man asked as he threw a sack of chicken feed with a small tear in the corner on the floor. The dog yipped again happily as the man took the bag and tied the feed bag to the dog’s short tail. After that was completed, he took a small piece of meat, tied a piece of twine in the middle of it, and then tied it to a small bamboo pole so that it was hanging above the little dog’s head. When the dog laid eyes on the meat, it growled and snapped at it, trying to pry it off the string and gnaw on it. She then began chasing it all around the room until the man opened the door, a signal for the dog to go outside. The dog turned and ran for the door, only to completely miss it and bang into the door post instead. The man winced, then rolled his eyes with a smile as the dog backed itself up and rushed out the door, running through a group of hens, dragging the sack of feed behind him, the hole leaving a trail of yellow meal on the ground. The hens squawked in surprise, then looked down at the feed, their minds taking over. The little dog continued to chase the meat and fly, rushing past the stables where the man’s horse, Chen Qing, watched. If horses could roll their eyes like humans could, her eyes would have been rolling. Past the stables the little dog continued to run, not stopping until he got his piece of meat.

~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, the man’s father, a tall man with light skin, long dark brown hair, and brown eyes by the name of Johnny Seo, sat quietly on a bench, eyes closed as he listened to the sound of nature all around him.

“Please help Sicheng impress the Matchmaker today” he prayed with sincerity. As he was praying, Bella came roaring past him, still chasing her piece of meat and dragging the feed behind him, leading the chickens past the bench. Johnny opened his eyes from having them shut in prayer to look at the chickens, then quickly shut them again.

“Please…please help him” he begged.

~*~*~*~*~

The man, Dong Sicheng, came out of the house carrying a tray with a teapot and teacup on it. As he walked up the steps towards where Johnny was praying, he saw Bella in vain trying to reach the piece of meat. He smiled in sympathy and reached down, pulling the meat until Bella could grasp it with her paws and begin chewing. He stood up again, walking up the steps once more, just as Johnny was walking down.

“Father, I-ah!” he cried out as he bumped into him, causing the teapot, cup, and tray to go flying out of his hands. Thankfully, he just unfurled his wings and quickly caught all of the items before landing back on the ground.

“Sicheng” Johnny started, his voice stern. Sicheng smiled shyly at him as he held out the teacup and poured a cup of tea.

“Sorry. But remember, the doctor said, one cup of tea in the morning and one at night” he stated as he handed Johnny the teacup. Johnny took the teacup and shook his head. 

“Sicheng, you should already be in town. We are counting on you to—” he started when Sicheng waved his hand.

“I know, I know, uphold the family honor” he interrupted, pushing the tray back slightly in his hands so that Johnny wouldn’t see the inked words on his arm. He then smiled at Johnny.

“Don’t worry, I won’t let you down” he promised before he turned and flew down the stairs.

“Wish me luck!” he called out.

“Sicheng! Your wings! Don’t use your wings!” Johnny called back. Sicheng stopped and descended to the ground, pulling his wings against his back.

“Yes Father” he called out before he ran off, placing the tray with the teapot on it down on the kitchen table before he ran to his room to grab his jacket so that no one could see his demon wings. As he watched his son run off back to the house, Johnny looked down to see Bella with the whole entire piece of meat shoved inside of her mouth. He then let out a heavy sigh.

“I’m going to…pray some more,” he murmured, walking slowly back up the stairs towards his bench.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	3. Honor to Us All

Downtown, Sicheng’s other father, Chittaphon “Ten” Leechaiyapornkul, was pacing in front of the beauty shop, waiting for Sicheng. The owner, Xiao Dejun, Ten’s son-in-law, poked his head through the curtain.

“Ten, is Sicheng here yet? The Matchmaker is not a patient man…” he reminded, his head heading back inside the curtains.

“Sicheng…I swear to God…” Ten grumbled under his breath. Huang “Hendery” Guanheng, Xiaojun’s husband and Sicheng’s brother, walked up to him, holding a small cage.

“Now now, Father, you know how Sicheng is” he soothed before he showed him the cage.

“Besides, I’ve got all the luck we’ll need” he stated, walking away from Ten before looking down into the small cage where a cricket was peering back at him.

“This is your chance to prove yourself” he told the cricket, who just looked back at him like he was crazy. And with that, Hendery covered his eyes, and stepped out into the road. Ten saw what Hendery was doing and his eyes widened.

“Hendery, no!” he shouted, but Hendery paid no mind; he just continued to walk through the busy street, testing to see if the cricket was lucky or not. As he walked through, many of the merchants and passersby had to slow down or stop so that they wouldn’t hit him. When Hendery made it to the other end of the street unharmed, he looked around and smiled. 

“Yup, this cricket’s a lucky one!” he shouted back to Ten. Ten shook his head and sighed when suddenly a horse neighed, making her look up to see Sicheng riding the family’s horse, Chen Qing, towards him. Once he was standing before he, he jumped off and held up his arms in triumph.

“I’m here!” he declared with a smile as pieces of hay and twigs stuck out of his hair. Ten narrowed his eyes and frowned, glaring at him, and when Sicheng felt his father’s stern gaze, he made a face.

“What?!” he whined. Ten gave him a look and Sicheng knew he was in trouble.

“But Father, I-” he started when Ten pressed his hand on his back and pushed him towards the shop.

“I don’t want to hear it! You’re late and you’ve made Xiaojun wait!” he exclaimed, pushing him towards the door. Xiaojun looked out and saw Sicheng and Ten walking towards the curtain door, so he held up one so that both could pass through. Once they were inside, Xiaojun did a once over of Sicheng before he smiled fondly and shook her head.

“Oh Sicheng-ge…” he murmured before he gently guided Sicheng behind a folding screen and stripped him down to nothing before gently pushing him into a small wooden tub.

“Holy shit, it’s freezing!” he exclaimed. Ten smirked.

“It would have been warm had you been here on time” he replied as Xiaojun took a large jar of water and poured it over Sicheng’s head, pushing all his hair into his eyes before she began scrubbing, trying to rid it of the dirt, hay, and sweat from his scalp. As he scrubbed, Sicheng winced in pain, since he was literally digging into his scalp. While he was still washing, Ten reached into the tub and grabbed Sicheng’s right arm, turning it over so that he could scrub it when he found the notes.

“Sicheng, what’s this?” he asked, looking up at him, frowning. Sicheng blushed and pulled his arm away.

“Um…nothing…” he murmured. Ten shook his head as Hendery walked up to him, handing him the cricket cage.

“Hold this. We’ll need a lot more luck than I thought!” he exclaimed.

~*~*~*~*~ 

After all the washing, which took forever thanks to the many feathers on his wings, Sicheng was dried off and lead to a room where two women had him sit down as they fixed his hair, adding extensions to make his hair much longer and more feminine. Once they were nicely placed, they each took a large piece of the hair and started brushing it.

“Don’t worry, sweetie, we’ll make you just as pretty as any girl and men will just be falling all over you!” one woman exclaimed. Sicheng rolled his eyes.

 _‘Yeah right’_ he thought. When the women were finished, Ten took Sicheng out to where all the other mothers and their daughters were getting ready to see the Matchmaker as well. As they were walking, they passed two old men playing chess, which caught Sicheng’s eye. He stopped and allowed his mother to keep walking as he studied the board before moving a piece, winning the game. When Ten realized that Sicheng was no longer following him, he quickly retraced his steps and grabbed him by the arm, pulling him away.

“Come on Sicheng!” he exclaimed.

~*~*~*~*~

Ten then lead Sicheng to the tailors, where two women had him stand up on a pedestal and dressed him in a black Hanfu overlaid with a red belt, which they pulled tight, shrinking his waist dramatically, causing him to gasp.

 _‘What have I gotten myself into?’_ he thought as he struggled to breathe.

~*~*~*~*~

When they were finished, Ten lead Sicheng out of the tailors and down to the last shop, where he would get his makeup done, and finally become the girl that his fathers need him to be, since they knew that if anyone found out that they were a family of angels, living in a town of demons, they would be executed for sure. As they were walking by, a little girl was playing with her doll when two boys on wooden horses trotted by, saw her, and snatched the doll away running from the girl. The girl began to cry, breaking Sicheng’s heart. He glared at the two boys as they passed him, snatching the doll from the brat before handing it back to the girl, who smiled up at him as she hugged the doll tightly.

~*~*~*~*~

When they entered the shop, the woman who was to do Sicheng’s makeup told him to sit down in front of her. He did so, and she picked up a thick white ointment that looked heavy on the skin, but was extremely easy to wipe off. When she was finished with that, she applied a light cheek tint, eye shadow, and finally dipped her paint brush in red liquid, and painted it on his lips. She then held up a mirror, showing Sicheng what he looked like now that he was “all dolled up”. Sicheng’s eyes widened and he blinked in shock; he didn’t even recognize himself. Ten smiled at his reaction before he waved his hand and summoned a beautiful feather pin, placing it “just so” in Sicheng’s hair.

“There, you’re ready” he cooed as Hendery walked up to both of them.

“Not yet” he declared as he walked up to Sicheng and shoved an apple in his mouth.

“An apple for serenity…” he began before he shoved a pendant down his shirt.

“A pendant for balance” he continued as he held up a string of jade and smiled as he clasped it around Sicheng’s neck. He then lifted the back of the shirt and attached the cricket cage to his underwear before he slapped his ass playfully.

“Don’t blow this, Sicheng-ge” he teased.

~*~*~*~*~

Sicheng sighed as he walked out of the shop and down the road to the Matchmakers, looking up into the sky, praying aloud.

“Please…please help me to not fuck this up” he murmured before he looked back to see Hendery waving and Ten wiping away a tear from his eye. He then looked back up at the heavens and smiled as he thought of Johnny.

“Also, please keep my father safe” he added. Just then, he noticed all the other girls walking towards the Matchmaker’s with their umbrellas, and he remember that he had left his back with Ten. He was about to turn around when Ten rushed up to him and handed him the paper umbrella. He then picked up the skirt and rushed after the girls, falling in line, the umbrella swung on his shoulders like how a boy would. After a while, he noticed that the other girls were holding their umbrellas with both of their hands clasped over the handle, so he quickly switched how he was holding the umbrella, trying to fit in a bit more. They then continued down the alley towards the Matchmaker until they came upon the small house, opening their umbrellas with ease, save for Sicheng, who had to watch the others to figure out how to open it, and dropped to their knees, hiding their faces, waiting to be called by the Matchmaker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	4. The Matchmaker

As the girls and Sicheng waited down on their knees with their faces covered, a young man burst through the doors, carrying a clipboard. He frowned as he looked at the list.

“Dong Sicheng!” he called. Sicheng quickly stood up and raised his hand.

“Present!” he replied. The Matchmaker frowned and scribbled something down on the clipboard, turning back to walk inside.

“Speaking without permission…” he grumbled, making Sicheng face-palm.

“Oops…” he murmured before he followed after the man. Meanwhile, as the rest of the village was watching, Hendery leaned over to Ten.

“What’s his problem?” he whispered. Ten shrugged in reply as they watched as Sicheng was lead up the steps and inside the house as the Matchmaker slammed the doors behind them.

~*~*~*~*~

Inside, Sicheng kept his head down as the Matchmaker examined him. The Matchmaker turned him around, startling him, but he knew how to act so he just kept his head down, and said nothing. The man walked around Sicheng and stared at his waist, taking notes. The man hummed in disappointment.

“Too skinny. Hmph. Not good for bearing sons” he stated. Sicheng rolled his eyes as he walked away.

 _‘Can’t bear sons anyways, dumbass_ he thought to himself. As the Matchmaker was speaking, the cricket that Hendery gave him opened its cage and jumped out, landing on the man’s shoulder. Sicheng saw it, eyes widening in shock, and he quickly reached out, grabbing the creature before it could do any damage. As he tried to put it back into its cage, the damn thing jumped out of his hand. He growled and grabbed for it again, but the stupid insect just kept escaping. The cricket tried to jump far away but luckily Sicheng was able to grab it before it could escape again. He then noticed that the Matchmaker was walking towards him, so he quickly shoved the cricket in his mouth, hoping that the Matchmaker saw nothing.

“Recite the final admonition” the Matchmaker ordered, staring at Sicheng. Sicheng nodded, smiling, and pulled out his fan; covering his face with it.

“Well?” the Matchmaker demanded; his tone impatient. Sicheng nodded, spitting out the cricket, fanning himself.

“Fulfill your duties calmly and….” he started before his mind blanked, so he slyly pulled his sleeve down so that he could look at his smeared notes.

“Respectfully. Um…reflect before you snack…” he continued before freezing, knowing that he said the wrong word. As he was reciting the admonition, the Matchmaker was walking around him, side-eyeing him. He then looked down at his notes once more.

“Act! This shall bring you honor and glory!” he exclaimed before he breathed out a sigh of relief and fanned himself. As he was fanning himself, the Matchmaker suddenly appeared in front of him and grabbed his arm, the one smeared with ink, and grabbed his fan, flipping it front and back to see if there were any hidden notes on the material.

“This way” he commanded, letting go of Sicheng’s arm, revealing that the ink had stained his entire hand. He then walked over to a small stove over a pile of coals and picked up the teapot that was resting on the stove, placing it on the table.

“Now, pour the tea” he ordered, showing his stained hand. Sicheng sat down, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open as he absent-mindedly grabbed the teapot.

“To please your future in-laws, you must demonstrate a sense of dignity” the Matchmaker continued, stroking his face with the ink stained hand, giving himself a beard. Sicheng was still watching with a gapping mouth, not realizing that he wasn’t even pouring the tea into the cup. When he finally realized it, he quickly moved the spout over the cup, the Matchmaker still lecturing as he poured.

“And refinement. You must also be poised” he continued. Sicheng nodded and when he finished pouring, he looked down to see the cricket he spat out earlier was relaxing in the warm tea. He blinked as the man took the cup in his hands.

“Um…pardon me…” he whispered, trying to get the man’s attention.

“And silent!” the Matchmaker snapped. Sicheng closed his mouth and covered it with his hand as the man sniffed the tea and sighed happily. The cricket looked up and his eyes widened when he saw where he was going. Just before the Matchmaker could drink the tea, Sicheng crawled on the table and grabbed cup, startling the Matchmaker.

“Can I just…take that back? One moment!” he pleaded, trying the yank the cup out of the man’s hands, but the man pulled back, forcing Sicheng to let go, which sent the man flying backward, spilling the tea all over himself. He looked down at the mess he had made of himself before looking up and glaring at Sicheng.

“Why you clumsy—” he growled when the cricket jumped inside of his tunic, halting his rant. The Matchmaker frowned before his eyes widened and he began to do a small jig, trying to force it out. As he was dancing, he was not watching where he was going and bumped into a pot of coals, overturning them before he landed on them. The Matchmaker froze, looked down, then jumped up, letting out a yell as he hit his butt, trying to put out the fire. Sicheng looked around helplessly before he looked at the fan in his hand. He tried to fan out the flames, but the added oxygen and wind just made it worse, making the flames grow. The Matchmaker yelled louder and fell on his butt once more, trying to put out the flames. 

~*~*~*~*~

Outside of the hut, everyone was listening to the chaos going on inside, looks of concern and confusion on their faces. Hendery looked over at Ten and smiled.

“I think it’s going well, don’t you?” he asked. Ten looked back at him and frowned when suddenly the Matchmaker bursted out of the doors, spinning in a circle.

“Put it out! Put it out!!” he screamed, just as Sicheng ran out behind him, dousing him with the tea, efficiently putting out the fire. He then realized what he had done, so he handed the teapot back to the man before he covered the side of his face with his hand as he quickly walked back to his mother and uncle. As he was walking back, the cricket hopped back into his bamboo cage, closing the door with a click. When Sicheng reached Ten and Hendery, he turned around, only to be greeted by a very angry Matchmaker.

“You are a disgrace!” he shouted, slamming the teapot to the ground, shattering it.

“You may look like a bride, but you will never bring your family honor!” he growled. With that, he turned away, rushing back to his hut and slammed the door. Many of the other families gapped at Sicheng as he hung his head in shame.

~*~*~*~*~

When they returned home, Sicheng opened the wooden gates and peeked his head inside to make sure that no one was around before he walked inside, Chen Qing’s reigns in his hands, as he hung his head in shame. Over by the house, at the sight of his son’s return, Johnny smiled brightly, a look of hope on his face. Sicheng looked over and when he saw his uncle’s smile, he quickly hid behind Chen Qing, leading him quickly to the stables. As he walked away, Johnny’s smile faded.

~*~*~*~*~

Sicheng entered the stables and lead Chen Qing to the trough, where he removed the bridle and reigns, letting the horse drink to its hearts content. As Chen Qing was drinking, Sicheng looked into the rippling water and sighed as he began to remove the clip-on earrings and jade necklace.

“That was terrible…I just ruined everything” he murmured as he looked up from the water and turned to see Ten and Johnny looking at each other with sadness in their eyes as they hung their heads, which made him feel even shittier than he was already feeling. He then slipped out of the stables and headed to the back gardens, where he hung his head for a moment before he let out a scream, shredding the Hanfu as his wings shot out of the fabric and unfurled from his back. He then sank to his knees, hanging his head again as he caught his breath, his wings limp as he panted heavily. He stayed like that for a few moments before he stood up and walked out of the garden, wiping his face with the sleeve of his jacket, removing the makeup. He then reached up and removed the feather pin from his hair before undoing the ribbon that held his extended hair up. Once his hair was down, he shut his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, savoring the wind that blew across his face and through his hair, calming him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!
> 
> Also, I know this sounds really weird, but could y'all please leave more kudos if you're enjoying this story! I love comments, I really do, but I don't like the fact that the comments outnumber the kudos. So if we could just leave more comments than kudos, that would be great. Thanks!


	5. Watch Over Sicheng

Sicheng then walked towards a blossoming cherry blossom tree, sitting down on the stone bench beneath it, wings drooping behind him as he hung his head, not knowing that his father was walking towards him. As he got closer, Johnny cleared his throat, making Sicheng look up in surprise. When he saw Johnny standing before him, he turned his head away, eyes burning with embarrassed tears. Johnny just smiled and shook his head as he took off his coat and draped it over Sicheng’s shoulders, covering up his torn dress and exposed wings, before he sat down next to him.

“My, what beautiful flowers we have this year” he started, looking up at the tree above them. Sicheng didn’t even acknowledge his comment as he quietly put on the coat and pulled it tight around him, head still bowed in shame. Johnny sighed and shook his head slightly before he looked up and spotted a closed blossom. He smiled slightly and nudged Sicheng gently, making his son look up as he pointed to the blossom.

“But look, this one’s late. I’ll bet that when it blooms, it will be the most beautiful of them all” he prophesied. Sicheng smiled a grateful smile at him, which he returned, when suddenly drums began to pound, making Sicheng look at him in confusion.

“What is it?” he asked. Johnny said nothing as he quickly got up and walked over to the entrance of their house, Sicheng right on his heels. As he tried to follow Johnny out of the gate, Ten walked over and held his hand out.

“Sicheng, stay inside” he ordered. Sicheng opened his mouth to argue when he heard a cough from behind him, causing him to turn to see Hendery and Xiaojun motioning him inside.

He nodded and quickly rushed back inside, climbing up the wall to try and get a better look at what was going on outside. When he peered over the wall, he saw that Xian Feng and two guards were surrounded by the towns folk, Xian Feng holding up a scroll and reading it aloud.

“Citizens, I bring you a proclamation from the Palace: the Angels have invaded Astria!” he declared. The townsfolk gasped and murmurs began to ripple through the crowd while the rest of Sicheng’s family sort of slunk back into their home, trying not to get noticed. Xian Feng then cleared his throat.

“By order of the Emperor, one man from every family must serve in the Imperial Army” he continued before he closed the scroll, placed it in his sack, and pulled out another one. He began to read off names of the different families.

“Xiao” he called out. A man stepped forward and took the conscription that the guard handed to him.

“Yi” he continued. A young man held his father back and stepped forward instead.

“I will serve the Emperor in my father’s place” he declared. The guard nodded and handed the man the scroll. Xian Feng continued to read the list.

“Seo” he called out. From the roof, Sicheng’s eyes went wide.

“No” he whispered to himself before he quickly scaled down the roof and rushed to Hendery’s side as he watched Johnny place his cane in Ten’s hands before walking towards Xian Feng. He bowed.

“I am ready to serve the Emperor” he declared as he reached out to grab the scroll when Sicheng rushed out of the house to his father’s side.

“Father, you can't go!” he cried. Johnny turned to Sicheng, his eyes wide.

“Sicheng!” he exclaimed. Sicheng ignored him and turned towards Xian Feng.

“Please sir, my father has already fought bravely—” he started. 

“Silence!” Xian Feng snarled, interrupting him. He then glared at Johnny.

“You would do well to teach your daughter to hold her tongue in a man's presence” he snapped. Sicheng’s eyes flashed pink and he wanted to snap at Xian Feng and tell him that he was no woman, but Johnny turned away from Sicheng.

“Sicheng, you dishonor me” he murmured. Sicheng’s mouth dropped open in shock as Hendery rushed out to guide Sicheng back into the house. Xian Feng humphed when Sicheng was inside before looking back down at Johnny.

“Report tomorrow at the Imperial training camp” he ordered. Johnny bowed low.

“Yes, sir” he replied before he turned away and walked back to his home, refusing to take his cane when Ten held it out to him. Xian Feng’s voice could still be heard calling off names of the different families that were to fight in the war.

“Chu. Wen. Chang…” he called out.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that evening, after Sicheng had changed out of his torn gown and into something much more comfortable, he walked down the hallway, absolutely exhausted from the day’s events, when he passed by the armory and noticed that the door was open. Just out of curiosity, he peeked inside and found Johnny removing his old war sword from the armoire where he kept his uniform before practicing his fighting stance. He stopped and watched for a moment in awe at his father’s quick and sharp moves until he shifted his weight onto his right leg, making him crumple in pain. Sicheng quickly darted away from the door and leaned against the wall, covering his mouth with his hand to stop himself from crying out. He couldn’t let his father go to war. Not like this.

~*~*~*~*~

That evening, the Seo family sat around a low dinner table, all of them eating in silence while thunder and lightning flashed outside of their opaque windows. Sicheng reached out and grabbed the teapot and began to pour tea for everyone before pouring for himself. Before he even took a sip, he slammed the cup down. 

“You shouldn't have to go!” he shouted as he stood up, glaring at Johnny. Ten looked up from his meal.

“Sicheng!” he exclaimed.

“There are plenty of young men to fight for Astria” Sicheng snapped, ignoring his other father. Johnny said nothing as he shut his eyes and continued eating.

“It is an honor to protect my country and my family” he replied calmly, not even sparing Sicheng a glance. Sicheng bristled with anger.

“So, you'll die for honor!” he snarled. Johnny’s eyes snapped open and he stood up in a flash.

“I will DIE doing what's right” he growled. Sicheng’s anger deepened.

“But if you—” he started. 

“I know my place; it is time you learned yours” Johnny snarled, shutting down whatever Sicheng had on the tip of his tongue. Sicheng stared at him in shock before he turned and rushed out of the house, tears streaming down his face as he began to cry.

~*~*~*~*~

After he had cried for a little while, Sicheng walked out into the rain and unfurled his wings, standing there for a long while, letting the rain wash over him and soak down deep into his bones. As he stood there, he looked over to see Johnny and Ten in their bedroom, Ten turning away from Johnny, a look of heartbreak on his face. Johnny sighed before he picked up a candle and blew it out, darkening the bedroom. Sicheng stared at their bedroom for a little while more before he looked up at the storming sky, eyes flashing pink.

“Forgive me” he whispered before he turned and headed back inside, wings dragging behind him, soaked through from the rain.

~*~*~*~*~

Sicheng then rushed inside and headed over to his father’s bedroom, quietly slipping inside as he headed straight for Johnny’s side dresser, reaching out and grabbing the conscription notice. He then waved his hand, summoning the feather that Ten had placed in his hair earlier that day, placing it down where the conscription notice should have been and quietly walked backwards towards the door. Before he completely left the room, Sicheng looked at both of his fathers with fond eyes, memorizing them in this peaceful state before he dashed out of the room and ran toward the armory, bursting through the doors. He then walked over to the armoire and opened it, taking out the sword before unsheathing it from its scabbard. He then grabbed his hair, mainly the extension part, and sliced it off with one swift motion. Once the long fake hair was off, he proceeded to unclip whatever hair remained, leaving him once more with his original short hair. He then stood up and walked over to the armoire, taking out the armor and slipping it on, wincing at the tightness of the chest plate as it fit over his chest and wings. He wished he could make some modifications to it, but he knew that if anyone saw his wings, he’d be in trouble for sure. After he slipped on the chest plate, he put on the rest of the armor and tightened every piece that needed to be tightened before grabbing the sword, sheathing it in its scabbard that rested on his left hip.

~*~*~*~*~

In her stable, Chen Qing was peacefully eating her hay when the stable doors bursted open, making the horse look up to see a strange man standing there in the flashing lightning. She reared on her hind legs in fear and the man rushed forward, reaching up and petting her muzzle, whispering that it was Sicheng and that he wasn’t going to her. Once Chen Qing was sure that it was Sicheng, she allowed him to lead her out of the stable as the rain was still coming down hard. Sicheng sighed and looked back sorrowfully once more at his home before he mounted Chen Qing and spurred her in the side, forcing the horse into a gallop as they rode out the family gates towards the army camp.

~*~*~*~*~

Once Sicheng had left, back in the house, Xiaojun, who was fast asleep in Hendery’s arms, suddenly awoke with a gasp.

“Sicheng” he whispered before he slipped out of Hendery’s arms and out of bed, running to Sicheng’s room, only to find it empty. As he stared at the empty room with wide eyes, he heard the patter of feet, so he turned to see Hendery jogging towards him, panting, as he had just ran from their bedroom.

“What’s wrong?” he panted. Xiaojun motioned to Sicheng’s empty room.

“Sicheng’s gone!” he exclaimed. Hendery’s eyes widened as he looked at the empty room before he looked at Xiaojun.

“We need to tell Johnny and Ten” he declared. Xiaojun nodded as both he and Hendery ran to Johnny and Ten’s bedroom, bursting through the door.

“Sicheng’s gone!” they exclaimed at the same time. Johnny and Ten woke with a start.

“What?” Johnny asked groggily before he looked to his left and found the feather hair piece where the conscription notice should have been. His eyes widened in shock as he reached out and gingerly picked up the feather, shaking his head.

“It can’t be” he whispered before he threw off the covers and rushed (as fast as he could) towards the armory, bursting through the door and walking over to the armoire, throwing open the doors, only to find it empty. A sinking feeling entered his gut as he carefully turned and headed outside.

“Sicheng!” he cried out as he hobbled a few feet before his knee gave out and he collapsed into the mud, looking up towards the open, swinging gates.

“No” he whispered, burying his face in his hands as Ten rushed over to him and knelt down next to him.

“You have to go after him! He could be killed!” he exclaimed as he unfurled his lilac wings from her back to shield her husband from the rain. Johnny shook his head as he looked sadly towards the gate.

“This was his choice…I have no control anymore” he muttered as tears slipped down his face. Ten’s hand flew up to his mouth before he embraced Johnny and buried his face in his neck as Hendery and Xiaojun looked on in sadness.

“Please, hear our prayer: watch over Sicheng” Xiaojun prayed quietly, bowing his head towards the gate, Hendery doing the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	6. Guardian Angels

While Sicheng was riding towards the training camp, Xiaojun and Hendery helped Johnny and Ten back inside, making sure they didn’t get soaked from being out in the rain for too long. Meanwhile, by the cherry blossom tree, a tall, heavenly figure descended from the sky and sat down on the stone bench, humming thoughtfully as he looked at the house.

“Jisung” he called out and soon a tall young man with light skin, ash blonde hair with a brown undercut, and brown eyes dressed in a white toga appeared before him.

“You called?” the young man asked. The heavenly figure, known as Huang Renjun, the Seo family’s guardian angel (ironic that angels had their own guardian angels), nodded.

“I did. I need you to call the other guardians” he instructed. The young man, Park Jisung, sighed before he nodded.

“Yes sir” he replied before he reached into his belt and pulled out a golden horn.

“One guardian meeting, coming right up” he murmured before he blew into the horn. Soon other heavenly figures descended and sat around Renjun, look of annoyance on their faces.

“I knew it, I knew it. That Sicheng was a troublemaker from the start” one angel exclaimed.

“Don't look at me, he gets it from your side of the family” another guardian snapped, pointing at the first angel.

“He's just trying to help his father” another angel offered, just as a fourth angel appeared before the three arguing angels.

“But, if he’s discovered, Johnny will be forever shamed. Dishonor will come to the family. Traditional values will disintegrate” they stated.

“Not to mention they'll lose the farm” a fifth angel added.

“My family never caused such trouble. They all became acupuncturists” the first angel bragged. The third angel rolled its eyes.

“Well, we can't all be acupuncturists” he sneered. A sixth angel turned to the third angel.

“No, your great grandson is a demon who decided to disobey his family and run off to fight in the Army!” they exclaimed. At this comment, all the angels began to argue, except for Renjun, who was looking back and forth at the angels with irritation evident on his face. After a while, the arguing got too loud for his taste, so he quickly stood up, eyes flashing.

“Enough! Arguing is going to get us nowhere” he snapped. The other guardian angels fell silent before they hung their heads; they knew he was right. He then cleared his throat. 

“One of us must go and bring Sicheng back before he does something stupid and gets himself killed” he declared. All of the guardian angels eyes widened before they looked at one another; they were definitely not going to volunteer themselves to go and save Sicheng. Let someone else do that. At their silence, Jisung frowned.

“Is no one gonna volunteer?” he asked, making all of the guardian angels turn to look at him. When no one answered his question, his eyes widened.

“Wait, are you seriously not going to help him?!” he exclaimed. Once more, the other guardian angels were quiet, making Jisung’s eyes nearly bug out of his head.

“I thought this was our job; to watch over those we were assigned to protect and keep them safe from harm! And yet here you all are, doing absolutely nothing!” he shouted. The guardian angels remained silent as Jisung threw up his hands.

“Fine! If no one’s going to go after him, then I’ll go!” he exclaimed. All of the guardian angels looked at him in shock.

“You? You’re nothing more than a mere trumpet blower” one guardian sneered. Jisung glared at them.

“I may be a mere trumpet blower, but I am more than you’ll ever be because I’m willing to risk my life to help Sicheng while you all just sit here looking pretty” he snarled before he turned and walked away. As he was walking away, the guardians stared after him with wide eyes while Renjun shook his head.

“Jisung! If you do this, you will never gain your wings!” he shouted. Jisung ignored him and just continued walking, ignoring the shouts that were coming from the cherry tree. Normally Jisung would follow the rules, but this time, he was just fed up with being told what he could and could not do when he knew for a fact he could probably save Sicheng’s ass, even though he also knew that Sicheng could take care of himself. As he continued down the hill, another angel appeared beside him.

“Jisung-ah” the angel greeted. Jisung jumped and looked over at the other angel before he blushed.

“Chenle” he greeted. The other guardian angel, Zhong Chenle, a tall young man with light skin, black hair, and brown eyes, smirked slightly.

“Never seen you like that before” he teased. Jisung blushed and let out a nervous laugh.

“Ah, yeah” he replied. Chenle chuckled.

“But…I kind of liked it” he mused. Jisung blushed deeper before he reached out and socked him in the arm.

“Yah…” he murmured. Chenle laughed before he crossed his arms.

“So, why did you volunteer yourself anyways?” he asked, genuinely curious.

“I couldn’t just stand there and do nothing. We’re guardian angels and we’re supposed to protect those that under our care and Sicheng is one of those people” Jisung replied passionately. Chenle hummed before he smiled brightly.

“Well then. What do you say we go save ourselves an angel?” he asked. Jisung looked at him in shock.

“What? You’re going to help?” he asked. Chenle scoffed.

“I’m your best friend, dummy. Of course I’m going to help. Now, are we going to save Sicheng or not?” he replied, placing his hands on his hips. Jisung stared at him before he nodded.

“Let’s go” he agreed. Chenle smiled before he snapped his fingers, both angels disappearing into thin air as they began their search for Sicheng.

~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, down in a valley very close to the Imperial Castle, Kun and his army were flying through the trees when they heard a branch snap from below. Kun raised his hand, halting his men, before pointing downwards in a silent order to investigate. Two angels descended from the air and ran through the forest, returning with two demon scouts, whom they threw down at Kun’s feet as he descended from the sky.

“Demon scouts” one angel declared. Kun hummed as he walked towards the scouts, who looked up at him with fear and awe.

“Kun…” one scout breathed. Kun smirked as he crouched before them.

“Nice work, gentlemen. You found my army” he mocked, motioning to the large army of angels that were flying above them. The second scout glared at him.

“The Emperor will stop you” he snarled. Kun turned his attention towards the scout and calmly stood to his feet, walking over to him. He then reached down and grabbed him by the neck, lifting him up into the air.

“Stop me? He invited me. By casting me out of his kingdom, he challenged my power. Well, I'm here to play his game” he growled before he threw the scout down in disgust. He then unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the scouts.

“Go! Tell your Emperor to send their strongest armies” he shouted, sending the scouts scrambling to their feet as they ran off into the forest, disappearing from sight. 

“I’m ready” he murmured under his breath before he glanced up to the sky.

“How many men does it take to deliver a message?” he called up. Kun’s archer, Liu Yangyang, smiled as he pulled out a bow and arrow and pointed it towards where the two scouts ran off to.

“One” he replied.

~*~*~*~*~

On a hill near the Army camp, Sicheng was pacing back and forth, nervous about entering the camp and joining the Army. He then took a deep breath to calm himself before he looked over at Chen Qing.

“Okay, okay, how about this?” he started, clearing his throat.

“Excuse me, where do I sign in? Hah, I see you have a sword. I have one too. They’re very manly and tough” he declared as he pulled the sword out of the scabbard, only to have it fall to the ground. His eyes widened in shock before he scowled, while he didn’t particularly like swords or weapons, he at least knew how to use them, thanks to Johnny’s teaching, so he knew he was a much better swordsman than this. He then looked up to see Chen Qing rolling on her back in laughter, which made him annoyed, so he just picked up a stick and gently chucked it at her, quieting her.

“I’m working on it” he snapped, making Chen Qing raise an eyebrow at him. Sicheng then shook his head and sighed.

“Who am I fooling? It’s gonna take a miracle to get me into the Army” he grumbled when a bright light appeared before him.

“Did someone ask for a miracle?” a voice boomed, making Sicheng’s eyes widened as he covered his face with his arm to protect his eyes from the bright light.

“Oh my God” he exclaimed as the bright light faded and Chenle and Jisung appeared before him. When Sicheng lowered his arm and looked at the two angels, he frowned.

“Who are you?” he demanded. Chenle smirked.

“We’re the people who are going to try and keep you out of trouble. Because let me tell you, if the Army finds out you’re an angel, you’re done for. The penalty is death” he stated. Sicheng gulped before he nodded.

“I know that” he replied. Chenle nodded as well.

“Good, good, that’s what I like to hear” he declared before he held out his hand.

“I never introduced myself, I’m Zhong Chenle, guardian angel” he introduced. Jisung then held out his hand as well.

“And I’m Park Jisung, guardian angel in training” he added. Sicheng blinked in shock before he reached out and shook both angel’s hands. He then looked at Jisung and frowned.

“Guardian angel in training?” he replied. Jisung nodded.

“Uh-huh. Every family has a guardian angel and I’m training to first get my wings before I find my own family to watch over” he explained. Sicheng nodded slowly.

“I see. So, then why are you watching over me? I didn’t even think angels had their own guardian angels” he murmured. Chenle chuckled.

“Well, they do” he stated. Sicheng then crossed his arms.

“Did someone send you or…” he started. Jisung shook his head.

“No, I volunteered myself because none of the other guardian angels were willing to risk their skins to save you” he explained. Chenle huffed.

“And at the expense of his wings” he added. Sicheng’s eyes widened as he looked at Jisung.

“What?!” he exclaimed. Jisung shrugged.

“It’s not that big of a deal” he replied. Sicheng shook his head.

“No, I think that’s a pretty big deal!” he exclaimed. Jisung sighed.

“If I don’t get my wings, I don’t get my wings. It’s not that big of a deal. Would I like them? Yes. Am I going to let you go into the Army alone and watch you die from the sidelines like everyone one else? Absolutely not” he declared. Sicheng blinked at the passion in Jisung’s voice and Chenle just gave Jisung a fond little smile before he snapped his fingers, transforming himself and Jisung’s togas into armor that looked like Sicheng’s, except they were made to fit each angel’s body type. He then clapped his hands together.

“Now come on! We don’t have all day!” he declared as he turned and began to walk towards the camp, Jisung following after him. Sicheng looked over at Chen Qing before he shrugged and followed after the two angels. What did he have to lose?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	7. The Imperial Army Camp

Sicheng, Chen Qing, Chenle, and Jisung walked towards the Imperial Army camp, Jisung and Chenle walking on either side of Sicheng.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Jisung asked sarcastically, looking around at the camp with disgust clearly evident on his face. Sicheng hummed as he walked past an open tent where a man was picking dirt out from between his toes with chopsticks while another man was picking his nose.

He then made a face of disgust as well and he shuddered.

“That’s just disgusting” he murmured. Chenle hummed.

“Totally, but if you don’t want to stand out, you might have start acting like them” he advised. As they continued to walk through the camp, Sicheng heard something off to his left, so he turned to see a tall young man with light skin, silver blonde hair, and brown eyes cornered by three rather tall soldiers. He watched for a moment as the men pushed and shoved the man before one of the three soldiers made a comments that seemed to anger the man because before the soldier even knew it, the man had drew his fist back and punched the solider in the face. The soldier snarled in pain before he grabbed the man by his neck with one hand and used the other hand to punch him repeatedly in the face before the rather pretty face began to look like a mottled mess of black and blue and there was blood dripping from his nose. Sicheng’s eyes widened and he quickly took off towards the fight, much to Chenle and Jisung’s surprise.

“Sicheng-ge? Sicheng-ge, where are you going?!” Chenle exclaimed before he rushed after him, Jisung following behind. Sicheng continued to quickly walk towards the fight and once he was standing behind the soldier, he tapped him on the shoulder, making him turn around.

“What do you want?” he snapped.

“For you to let him go. You’re gonna kill him and I don’t think the Emperor would be very happy to find that one of their recruits was killed over some petty little argument” Sicheng replied calmly as he motioned to the bleeding man. The soldier growled before he dropped the man, who coughed and coughed, trying to get some oxygen back into his lungs, since the soldier was had his hand so tight around his throat that he was slowly starting to lose consciousness. The soldier then turned to face Sicheng, narrowing his eyes.

“Who do you think you are?” he snarled.

“Someone who doesn’t want to see anyone else get hurt” Sicheng replied calmly. The soldier growled and swung a punch at Sicheng, but he just dodged his head to the left before surging forward, uppercutting the man in the sternum. As the soldier doubled over in pain, Sicheng grabbed the back of his head and jabbed his knee upwards, hitting the soldier square in the nose. The soldier let out a cry of pain and when Sicheng released his head and stepped back, the soldier fell to the ground, bloody and in pain. Sicheng then looked up at the other soldiers, eyes glowing pink.

“Anyone else?” he snarled. The other two soldiers slowly stepped back in fear before they reached down and picked up their friend, dragging him away from the fight. Once they were gone, Jisung and Chenle looked at Sicheng with awe and admiration.

“That was so cool” Jisung breathed. Sicheng looked over at him and smiled before he walked forward and knelt down before the man.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly. The man looked up at him and nodded.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Thank you. You didn’t have to do that” he thanked. Sicheng shrugged.

“I know, but if I didn’t, who would?” he replied before he smiled. The man smiled in return before he frowned.

“Um…I don’t mean to alarm you, but your eyes…they’re um…they’re glowing” he whispered. Sicheng’s eyes widened and he quickly shut his eyes, taking a deep breath to calm himself before he opened his eyes and looked at the man.

“Are they—” he started.

“You’re good” the man assured before he reached out and placed a hand on Sicheng’s arm.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone” he promised. Sicheng looked at him in shock.

“You won’t?” he whispered. The man shook his head as his eyes suddenly glowed purple, making Sicheng gasp.

“Are you…an angel as well?” he whispered. The man shook his head.

“No, I’m a demon. Are you an angel?” he whispered as his eyes dimmed back to normal. Sicheng’s eyes widened and he quickly looked away, making the man eyes widen before he smiled slightly.

“I won’t tell anyone that you’re an angel, either” he promised. Sicheng looked at him in shock while the man reached up and touched the blood that was still flowing from his nose, sighing.

“Jaehyun’s not gonna be happy” he murmured.

“Taeyong!” a voice suddenly cried out, making Sicheng and the man turn to see a tall young man with light skin, dark brown hair, and brown eyes running towards them. He then knelt next to the man, whom Sicheng deemed Taeyong, and cupped his face in his hands.

“Are you hurt? What happened?!” he demanded before looking over at Sicheng.

“Did you hit him? Did you hurt him?” he growled, releasing Taeyong’s face as he stood up to loom over Sicheng. Sicheng’s eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak when Taeyong reached up and grabbed the man’s wrist.

“Jaehyun, stop. He saved me from some of the other recruits” he explained. The tall man looked down at him and smiled as he turned his wrist in Taeyong’s grasp so that he was holding onto Taeyong’s and helped him to his feet. He then pressed two fingers to Taeyong’s temple and Sicheng watched as the blood and the forming bruises disappeared, leaving Taeyong’s skin untouched, as if he had never gotten into a fight.

“I’m glad you’re okay” Jaehyun murmured before looking over at Sicheng.

“Thank you for saving him. I’m sorry for snapping at you” he apologized, bowing.

Sicheng smiled and shook his head.

“It’s alright. I get it, you’re rather protective of him” he replied. Jaehyun smiled before he bowed again.

“Jung Jaehyun. Nice to meet you” he introduced before he motioned to Taeyong.

“And Lee Taeyong, my partner” he added. Sicheng smiled and bowed to both Taeyong and Jaehyun.

“Dong Sicheng” he replied before he motioned to Jisung and Chenle.

“Park Jisung. Zhong Chenle” he introduced. Jaehyun and Taeyong bowed to Jisung and Chenle before Jaehyun frowned at Sicheng.

“Sicheng…is your armor supposed to bulge like that?” he asked. Sicheng frowned while Jisung looked at Sicheng’s back, noticing that Jaehyun was right.

“That’s definitely not normal” he murmured. Sicheng sighed.

“My wings tend to raise up and like to break free from my clothing when I get angry” he explained. Taeyong nodded.

“I understand. Why don’t we get you some armor that is actually made for supernatural beings? Because you are definitely not wearing armor made for creatures like us, you look like you’re wearing human armor” he stated. Sicheng nodded.

“I am. It’s my father’s” he replied. Jaehyun and Taeyong nodded before they motioned for him, Chenle, and Jisung to follow them as they walked into a tent where two other men were sitting.

“Jaemin, Jeno, this is Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung. They’re new to the Army” Jaehyun called out. The two men looked up and smiled at the three new soldiers.

“Hi there. I’m Na Jaemin. Nice to meet you” the first soldier, a tall young man with light skin, black hair, and brown eyes, greeted. The second soldier, a tall young man with light skin, platinum blonde hair, and brown eyes, nodded in greeting.

“Lee Jeno” he replied. Sicheng, Jisung, and Chenle bowed to them while Taeyong looked over at Sicheng.

“Sicheng…may I tell Jeno and Jaemin your secret? I promise, no one in this tent will say anything to anyone else” he promised. Sicheng was quiet before he nodded. Taeyong nodded before he looked at Jeno and Jaemin.

“Now, this information that I am about to tell you must not leave this tent, understood?” he instructed. Jeno and Jaemin nodded, so Taeyong cleared his throat.

“Sicheng is not a demon…he’s an angel” he revealed. Jaehyun, Jeno, and Jaemin’s eyes widened before Jeno whistled.

“You’re brave, hyung…” he murmured. Jaemin nodded.

“You really are. And don’t worry, we won’t tell anyone else. We promise” he assured. Sicheng smiled and nodded.

“Thank you” he murmured. Taeyong then walked over to his cot and grabbed out a suit of armor and a black training uniform before walking back over to Sicheng, handing them to him.

“Here. Why don’t you change into this armor? It’s perfect for supernatural beings because when you fold your wings against your back, your wings melt into the armor so it looks like you don’t have any wings. It’s also incredibly lightweight, which is also nice” he explained. Sicheng looked at him with wide eyes.

“Are you sure? I couldn’t take this” he replied. Taeyong smiled and shook his head.

“I want you to have it. You can’t be fighting in uncomfortable armor” he explained.

Sicheng nodded as he quickly walked over to the corner of the tent and changed out of Johnny’s old armor and into the armor that Taeyong had gifted him. After he had changed, he turned around and showed off the new armor to the others.

“What do you think?” he asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and Jeno let out another whistle. Sicheng blushed while Taeyong hummed.

“Try unfurling your wings” he instructed. Sicheng nodded and unfurled his wings, revealing to the others his pair of pure white wings.

“How do you feel?” Jaehyun inquired. Sicheng shrugged.

“I feel great” he replied. Taeyong nodded.

“Now, fold your wings against your back” he ordered. Sicheng nodded and folded his wings against his back, gasping when he couldn’t even feel the weight anymore.

“Oh my god” he whispered. Taeyong smiled.

“Cool right?” he asked. Sicheng nodded when suddenly there was a large commotion outside of the tent. The seven soldiers looked at each other before they rushed out, noticing that there a large fight going on in the middle of the camp.

“What’s going on?” Jisung demanded. Taeyong shook his head.

“No idea. Let’s go check it out” he replied as he rushed forward, Jaehyun right on his heels. Jeno, Jaemin, Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung looked at one another before they rushed after the other two men, ready to help.

~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, Xian Feng watched the fight with distain before he walked into a large tent where General Nakamoto and his son, Nakamoto Yuta, a tall young man with light skin, blonde hair, and brown eyes were sitting.

“Kun and his angels have struck here, here and here. I will take the main troops up to the mountains surrounding Astria and stop Kun before he destroys this village” General Nakamoto declared, motioning with his pointer to a map of the region.

“Excellent strategy, Sir. I do love surprises” Xian Feng laughed. General Nakamoto glared at him before looking back at Yuta.

“You will stay here and train the new recruits. When Xian Feng believes you're ready, you will join us…Captain” he declared as he handed Yuta a sword. Yuta looked at General Nakamoto in awe.

“Captain?” he repeated, stunned.

“Oh, this is an enormous responsibility, sir. Uh, perhaps a soldier with more experience—” Xian Feng started when General Nakamoto held up a hand, cutting him off.

“Number one in his class, extensive knowledge of training techniques, an impressive military lineage. I believe my son will do an excellent job” he stated as he leaned back, stroking his chin. Yuta’s eyes lit up as he stared at the sword.

“Oh, I will. I won’t let you down. This is, I mean, I…” he stammered before he cleared his throat.

“Yes sir” he replied, much more in control of his emotions. General Nakamoto nodded as he got up and headed out of the tent.

“Very good then. We'll toast Astria’s victory at your brother’s palace” he stated with a smile before he turned to Xian Feng.

“I’ll expect a full report in three weeks” he ordered as he stepped out of the tent. Xian Feng bowed in response before he turned back to look at Yuta, glaring.

“And I won’t leave anything out” he snapped before also stepping out of the tent. Yuta remained behind, tying the sword to his uniform.

“Captain Nakamoto, hmmm, leader of Astria’s finest troops. No, the greatest troops of all time” he laughed to himself before taking a step out of the tent. What he saw was all the recruits fighting and his mouth opened in shock before his attention turned to an injured recruit, who saluted General Nakamoto before falling the ground. General Nakamoto shook his head and stepped over the man, mounting his horse.

“Most impressive” Xian Feng grumbled.

“Good luck Captain” General Nakamoto wished before he and his mounted troops left the camp. Yuta looked after his uncle sadly.

“Good luck, Father” he whispered to himself before he turned his attention to the recruits, who were still fighting. Xian Feng smirked at him.

“Day one” he teased, with a board and a brush in hand. Yuta steeled his gaze and took a step forward.

“Soldiers!” he shouted. All the recruits quickly stopped fighting and backed away to reveal Sicheng, Chenle, Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung in a circle, hands up by their heads in a fight stance. Yuta looked at them in shock before he cleared his throat.

“At ease” he ordered. Sicheng, Chenle, Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, Jaemin, and Jisung snapped out of their stance and faced Yuta, who glared at them.

“I don't need anyone causing trouble in my camp!” he snapped. Sicheng huffed as he clasped his hands behind his back.

“We weren’t the instigators of this fight, sir” he stated calmly. Yuta’s head snapped towards him and he walked over to him, narrowing his eyes at him.

“What’s your name?” he demanded. Sicheng refused to be intimidated by this demon so he just steeled his gaze and looked into Yuta’s eyes.

“Dong Sicheng” he replied. Yuta frowned before he held out his hand.

“Let me see your conscription notice” he ordered. Sicheng reached into his new armor and pulled out the note, handing it to him. Yuta read the note and his eyes widened.

“Johnny Seo?” he asked, very surprised. Sicheng looked at Yuta, confused, and nodded. Yuta then shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe what he was reading.

“THE Johnny Seo?” he repeated. Sicheng nodded again. Xian Feng then took the notice from Yuta and read it before looking at Sicheng.

“I didn't know Johnny Seo had a son” he murmured, his voice suspicious. Sicheng looked at him, gobsmacked, and swore he could feel his eyes beginning to glow.

“With all due respect, sir, he does. I’m his eldest son” he snarled, taking a step forward. Jisung quickly reached out and grabbed his arm.

“Hyung, calm down. Your eyes are starting to glow” he whispered. Sicheng growled before he took a deep breath and shut his eyes for a moment before he opened them again. Yuta stared at him in shock before he huffed and crossed his arms.

“I don’t **know** who started this fight, I don’t **care** who started this fight, I just want this place cleaned up. So, start cleaning! And be afraid, for tomorrow, the real works begins” he growled before he stormed off, Xian Feng following behind. The rest of the soldiers looked at Jaehyun, Taeyong, Chenle, Jeno, Jaemin, Sicheng, and Jisung with anger in their eyes but they didn’t care; they had bigger things to worry about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	8. I'll Make a Man Out of You

The next morning, Sicheng was asleep in the tent shared by Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, and Jaemin when he felt someone shake his shoulder.

“Hyung, it’s time to get up” Jisung murmured. Sicheng grumbled and sat up, rubbing his eyes.

“What time is it?” he asked. Jisung looked at his invisible watch before he looked back at Sicheng.

“Time for you to get up or you’ll be late” he replied. Sicheng groaned and pushed himself out of bed, running his fingers through his hair. He then dressed in the training uniform that Taeyong had given him before following Jisung out of the tent and over to where Taeyong, Chenle, Jaehyun, Jeno, and Jaemin were waiting for them.

“Morning Sleeping Beauty” Jaehyun teased. Sicheng groaned and ran a hand down his face.

“Shut up” he grumbled. As they stood around, some of the other soldiers walked over to them and began leering at them.

“Hello Sicheng” one soldier sneered. Sicheng yawned and looked over at him.

“Can I help you?” he grumbled. One of the other soldiers sneered at him.

“Are you hungry?” he asked. Sicheng and the others raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?” Sicheng replied. A third soldier laughed.

“I asked if you’re hungry, because I owe you a knuckle sandwich” he declared before he threw his fist forward, only to be blocked by Chenle’s hand.

“What a weak punch” he commented before he tsked and quickly twisted his wrist, snapping it. The man let out a cry of pain and dropped to the ground in pain. The other soldiers looked at Chenle with wide eyes before another soldier took a step forward.

“Why you—” he growled.

“SOLDIERS!” a loud voice boomed, just before the soldier could do any serious damage to Chenle. All the soldiers quickly lined up as Yuta appeared before them, quickly removing his shirt as he grabbed a bow and quiver of arrows. All the soldiers looked at him in shock; he had an impressive physique. He then turned towards them, narrowing his eyes.

“You will assemble swiftly and silently every morning” he ordered as he began to walk down the line, eyeing the soldiers.

“Anyone who acts otherwise will answer to me” he growled. 

“Oooo, tough guy” one soldier sneered. Yuta’s head snapped towards him, an arrow knocked into his bow.

“Su She!” he exclaimed, pointing the arrow at him. All the recruits took a step back, leaving the soldier to the mercy of Yuta, who then pointed the arrow skyward and shot it into the top of a high pole. 

“Thank you for volunteering. Retrieve the arrow” he ordered with a sarcastic smile. The soldier, Su She, glared at Yuta.

“I'll get that arrow, pretty boy. And I'll do it with my shirt on” he grumbled, walking towards the pole. Yuta held out a hand.

“One moment. You seem to be missing something” he stated, halting the man. Xian Feng suddenly appeared, carrying a box containing two large bronze disks. Yuta took a disk out of the box and held it high as he spoke to the rest of the troops.

“This represents discipline…” he started as he handed the disk to Su She, the weight falling to the ground, taking Su She’s arm with it. Yuta smirked.

“…and this represents strength” he finished, handing that disk to Su She as well, this time both disks making Su She fall to the ground. All the other troops laughed while Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, Chenle, Jisung, Sicheng, and Jaemin looked slightly concerned.

“You need both to reach the arrow” Yuta explained. Su She gritted his teeth and began to climb the pole when he slipped and fell underneath the weight of the disks on his arms. After him, Sicheng, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, Jisung, Chenle and Jaemin, and all the other soldiers all tried their luck at climbing the pole, but to no avail. After his failed attempted, Sicheng walked in front of Yuta, rubbing his lower back and wincing in pain, slightly ashamed. Yuta just face-palmed.

“We've got a long way to go” he groaned.

~*~*~*~*~

After all of the soldiers failed to retrieve the arrow from the top of the pole, Yuta turned towards a large barrel and reached inside, grabbing an armful of staffs before turning back around and tossing it to the group. Sicheng reached out and grabbed his, only to be tripped by another soldier. He looked up at the soldier and glared before he pushed himself to his feet, and stared at Yuta, who held a staff out in front of him. He then threw up two clay pots before smashing them both with his staff. All the troops gapped at him before quickly composing themselves and holding their staffs out in front of them at arm’s length.

“Hua” they shouted in unison. As they stood there waiting for instruction, a soldier laughed quietly to himself as he slipped a cricket down Jisung’s back, causing him to flail erratically. While he was swinging his staff left and right, many of the troops fell with blows to their chest and stomach when she struck them, save for Sicheng, Jaehyun, Chenle, Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaemin, who kept a good distance. After he had nearly knocked everyone out, Yuta finally noticed and somersaulted in the air, landing near him and winced as he took a pole in the stomach. He then grabbed his staff from him before he grabbed him by the collar.

“Mister, I’ll make a man out of you” he snarled. Before Jisung could retort, Sicheng stepped forward and wrenched him from Yuta’s grip, glaring at the demon prince.

“Get your hands off of him” he growled. Yuta growled and the two men glared at one another, facing off, daring the other to back down. After a few moments, Yuta sighed and turned away, walking away from the man. Sicheng let a small smirk cross his face as he watched Yuta walked away while Jisung looked up at him and smiled.

“Thanks, hyung” he thanked. Sicheng looked back at him and smiled.

“You’re welcome” he replied, reaching out and pinching Jisung’s cheek.

~*~*~*~*~

After the stare down, Yuta took the recruits to another part of the training grounds and showed them how to use bows and arrows next. He stepped on a lever, throwing up three targets which he hit with ease using three arrows from the same bow. All the recruits tried to copy what he did, but they all failed, miserably. After a while, Jeno just sighed, took a target, and speared his arrow with it, ready to fire when Sicheng noticed Yuta walking towards them. His eyes widened and he quickly grabbed Jeno’s bow and replaced it with his so that Yuta would think that he was cheating and not Jeno. When Yuta walked over to him and gave him a disdainful look, Sicheng just smiled sweetly and pulled the arrow back before releasing it, the arrow and target hitting the tree that they were supposed to be aiming for. Yuta narrowed his eyes before he continued walking and Sicheng let out a breath of relief.

“Thank you hyung” Jeno thanked. Sicheng nodded.

“Of course” he replied.

~*~*~*~*~

At the next area, Yuta was standing before the troops, balancing a bucket of water on his head while he held a staff out in front of him. Beforehand, he had told the troops to take stones and once he had the bucket on his head to chuck it at him. They did what they were told and threw a mass of stones at him, but he easily deflected them with the staff, making troops gawked at him in amazement. He then looked around for another recruit to try this stunt when his eyes fell on Sicheng. He smirked and called Sicheng’s name, ordering him to repeat exactly what he did. Sicheng muttered a string of curses under his breath before he stepped forward and placed a bucket on his head, wobbling as he tried to keep the bucket balanced while he held his staff in front of him. The other recruits smirked as they threw stones at him, one stone hitting the bucket, making it tip over and slosh over onto him. He heard Yuta sigh with disappointment and for some reason, he felt guilty. He peeked out from underneath the bucket and saw Jisung, Chenle, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, and Jaemin smiling sympathetically at him and he sighed.

~*~*~*~*~

At the river, next to the training ground, Yuta showed the troops how to catch fish by hand by throwing his hand down into a river and retrieving a fish. All the other recruits nodded and decided to try it as well. Sicheng threw his hand into the river, easily catching a fish. Jaemin, however, had a much harder time, and instead of getting a fish, he retrieved another soldier’s foot. Sicheng looked over, saw his dilemma, and hand him his fish and instead took the soldier’s foot, holding it up to show Yuta, who just narrowed his eyes in disgust.

~*~*~*~*~

Later that evening, Yuta took the men out into a large field and handed them bows, ordering them to light the arrow heads on fire and shoot them into the field. The men started to protest, but Yuta held up a hand, silencing them.

“Nonsense. What if the enemy fires flaming arrows at you? Will you know how to safe run through or away from them?” he snapped, immediately silencing them. Yuta smirked.

“Thought so. Jaehyun, Taeyong come be our demonstrators, please” he ordered. Jaehyun and Taeyong gulped but nodded anyways as they stood at the spot Yuta motioned for them to stand on before he turned to the troops.

“On my count, fire. Ready?” he asked. All the troops nodded. Yuta grinned.

“Three, two, one, FIRE!” he roared and all at once multiple arrows soared through the air. He then shoved Jaehyun and Taeyong through the horribly shot arrows and the two soldiers sprinted as fast as they could, desperately trying to not get hit. Jaehyun shook his head.

_‘_ _Fuck this shit’_ he thought to himself. Taeyong was right behind him, gritting as he sprinted through the fires, barely making it out alive.

_‘_ _I’m going to fucking die’_ he thought.

~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, at another section of the camp, Chenle and a few other soldiers were practicing breaking slabs of concrete with their faces. Chenle easily broke his slab before turning to watch the other soldiers throw their faces down, hoping to break the concrete, only to receive black eyes and chipped teeth. Chenle let out a chuckle as the other soldiers groaned and made noises of pain.

“Might want to put some ice on that” he teased.

~*~*~*~*~

In another part of the camp, Yuta and Sicheng were practicing hand to hand combat. The two men were equally matched and soon a large crowd had gathered to watch them fight. They continued to fight and at one point, Sicheng had gotten the upper hand by crashing his fist into the side of Yuta’s head, making the captain pause and clutch at his head. Sicheng smirked but the moment he let his guard down, Yuta’s fist came out of nowhere and knocked him to the ground. Around them, all the soldiers were whispering and murmuring to one another.

“Do you think he’s gonna last?” one whispered.

“He’s a bit of a troublemaker if you ask me” another one whispered. On the ground, Sicheng looked up to see Yuta smirking down at him so he just grit his teeth and pushed himself to his feet once more, sinking down into a fighting stance. Yuta raised an eyebrow but just shrugged his shoulders and shrunk down into a fight stance, staring at Sicheng. As the man continued to stare at him, Sicheng gulped.

~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, while they were sparing, Jisung was sparing with another recruit when the recruit suddenly caught him off guard and pointed their sword at his throat, sending him almost into the water.

“All right, you win!” he exclaimed, admitting defeat as he took a step back. His combat skills, especially with a sword, needed improvement. Big time.

~*~*~*~*~

The next day the troops were out in a large open field, practicing with cannons that would be used to defeat the angels. Many of the cannon fire missed the target in the middle of the field, much to Yuta’s annoyance and disappointment. Just as Sicheng struck his match and lit the fuse on fire for his cannon, one of the recruits kicked the stand out from underneath the cannon, making it fall of balance. Sicheng’s eyes widened and he quickly grabbed the cannon, watching as it fired high and back towards the camp, landing and exploding Xian Feng’s tent. He gritted his teeth and let loose a low stream of curses under his breath, feeling his wings starting to raise up in rage. He quickly took a deep breath and shook his head, regaining composure. He could not reveal his secret. He couldn’t.

~*~*~*~*~

That night, while the rest of the camp was asleep, Yuta remained awake, sitting on a nearby hill looking over the camp with a frown of disappointment on his face.

~*~*~*~*~

The next morning, as they were running up the mountain, near the back, Taeyong collapsed, exhausted. Jaehyun, Jeno, Jaemin, Jisung, Chenle, and Sicheng all stopped and looked over their shoulder at him.

“Taeyong!” Jaehyun exclaimed, running over to his partner, the others following behind. When they reached him, Sicheng held out a hand and helped him to his feet before he took his place on the ground, feigning exhaust as he placed Taeyong’s grain pole on his shoulders.

“Sicheng, what are you doing?” Taeyong demanded, looking down at the younger man. Sicheng looked up at him and smiled sadly.

“Yuta and Xian Feng have it out for me and I don’t want you guys to get ousted for being angels, so I will take the blame for tripping and fall due to exhaustion. Now go!” he ordered, shooing the others away from him. They looked at him one last time before they took off after the troops, gaining Yuta’s attention.

“Where’s Sicheng?” he demanded. The men pointed back to where Sicheng was pretending to be exhausted. Yuta groaned and ran back to him, making him look up at him.

“Pathetic” he spat before he grabbed Taeyong’s pole and placed it on top of his before the rest of the troops. Sicheng growled as he watched him run back but in all honesty, he was too tired to care anymore, so he just put his head down and let out a deep sigh.

~*~*~*~*~

That night, Sicheng was walking back to his tent when Yuta stopped in front of him, holding Chen Qing’s reign in his hand.

“Yes, sir?” Sicheng asked, looking at Yuta with raised eyebrows. Yuta said nothing as he handed over Chen Qing’s reins.

“Go home. You’re not suited for the Army” he declared before he turned away, shaking his head sadly.

“And here I thought you could” he murmured, just loud enough for the man to hear before he walked off. Sicheng blinked before he turned and began to walk towards the entrance of the camp when the moonlight caught onto the silhouette of the arrow caught in the tall pole. As he stared at it, he thought of Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, Jaemin, Jisung, and Chenle and the secret that they all shared and as he continued to stare at the arrow, his eyes hardened and he quickly dropped Chen Qing’s reigns, running over to the box that was left near the pole, pulling out the disk. He would show them all; Yuta, the other soldiers, Xian Feng, everyone. He was not someone to underestimate.

~*~*~*~*~

Sicheng then walked over to the pole and tightened the disk around his wrists as he began to try and climb the pole again.

_‘You_ _can do this Sicheng’_ he told himself as he gritted his teeth and he tied the disks around the pole, using the cloth to help him climb with more ease. 

_‘_ _Don’t give up now…’_ he chanted in his mind as he started to climb. Of course, he could have just unfurled his wings and flew to the top, but that seemed like an unfair advantage and he didn’t want to cheat his way to the top. He wanted to earn it. As he continued to climb, dawn began to rise and slowly, one by one, the soldiers began to exit their tent, noticing that he was climbing the pole. Of course, he slipped once or twice, but he was determined to make it to the top, to prove to everyone, especially Yuta, that he was fit for this war and that he wasn’t as pathetic as he thought he was.

_‘_ _I’ll show them. I’ll show them all!’_ he mentally declared. When Yuta finally awoke, and stepped outside of his tent, the arrow that he had shot to the top of the pole a few days suddenly appeared at his feet, making him look up in shock. At the top of the pole, Sicheng was smiling down at him, something that Yuta had never seen before.

~*~*~*~*~

That morning, all the troops hit all targets with arrows correctly, which pleased Yuta greatly. 

~*~*~*~*~

During that day’s hike, Sicheng, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Chenle, Jisung, Jaemin, and Jeno rushed in front of Yuta and the rest of the troops, the pole and weights on their shoulders. 

~*~*~*~*~

During their sparing time, Sicheng and Yuta were once again equally matched before Sicheng got the upper hand and roundhouse kicked Yuta in the face, sending him to the ground. The captain blinked in surprise as he rubbed his face, a little impressed. Suddenly, a shadow appeared above him and he looked up to see Sicheng smiling down at him, holding out his hand. Yuta smiled in returned and grasped Sicheng’s hand, Sicheng pulling him to his feet. They stared at one another before they turned to look out over the camp, looking at how much they had improve. Oh, Yuta was pleased. He was very pleased indeed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	9. Chenji's Plan

High up in the mountains, near Astria, Kun and his army were waiting; Kun perched atop a tall tree, scouting the area. As he was scouting, his falcon appeared above him and dropped a little doll into his hands, making him look down at the doll before he sniffed it, eyes widening afterwards.

“Acrid” he murmured before he unfurled his wings and flew down to the rest of his army, who were waiting for his orders. He then tossed the doll to one of his soldiers.

“What do you see?” he demanded. The soldier narrowed his eyes at the doll. 

“Black pine, from the high mountains” he declared. Yangyang then took the doll to look at himself, another soldier pulling out a white hair from the doll’s hair as it passed.

“White horsehair. Imperial stallions” he declared. Yangyang soldier sniffed the doll before looking at Kun.

“Sulfur, from cannons” he added as he handed the doll back to him. Kun hummed as he took the doll and gave it a slight squeeze.

“This doll came from a village in the mountain, where the Imperial Army’s waiting for us” he stated. Yangyang grinned.

“We can avoid them easily” he purred. Kun shook his head.

“No, the quickest way to the Emperor is through that pass. Besides, the little girl will be missing her doll. We should return it to her” he stated, looking towards the mountains, eyes glowing red.

~*~*~*~*~

That evening, Sicheng, Chen Qing, Chenle and Jisung were down by the river, Sicheng hiding behind the reeds. Once he was changed, he walked the river, letting the cool water run over him. He then looked over at Jisung, who looked a little hesitant to get in the water.

“Come on Jisung, the water feels great. I promise I won’t look” he promised as he turned away, letting Jisung know that he wouldn’t look at him, since he seemed a little uncomfortable. Jisung smiled before he quickly ran into the river, also letting the water run over him. Chenle then quietly followed behind and slipped into the water, humming in content.

“Wow, you’re right, this does feel good” Jisung sighed.

“It does indeed” Chenle agreed.

“Mind if we join you?” a voice called out. Sicheng, Jisung, and Chenle turned to see Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, and Jaemin standing at the edge of the river, smiles on their faces.

“Sure, come in” Sicheng invited. The four men quickly got undressed before they waded into the water and swam over to where Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung were cleaning and relaxing.

“We never did thank you for saving our asses during training. You seriously didn’t have to do that” Taeyong stated. Sicheng shrugged.

“I didn’t, but like I told you the first time I helped you with the other soldiers, I just don’t want to see someone else get hurt. And that Yuta needed to be taken down a couple of notches. He was being a jerk” he spat. Jisung chuckled.

“I don’t know hyung, you two had like a thing going, especially during the sparing matches” he teased. Sicheng blushed as Jaemin laughed.

“I always enjoyed watching those, just because you actually made the captain work. And I think he actually enjoyed sparing with you” he replied. Sicheng raised an eyebrow.

“You think?” he asked. Jaehyun nodded.

“Definitely. I think the rest of us are too scared to talk back to him, but you…you just talk back to him as if you have nothing to lose. It’s impressive, to say the least” he explained. Sicheng hummed as he dipped underneath the water and scrubbed his fingers through his hair before coming back up to the surface.

“God, I needed this” he murmured. Jeno nodded.

“I think we all did” he agreed. Sicheng then yawned and motioned towards the shore.

“I’m tired, so I think I’m gonna call it tonight. See you guys tomorrow?” he asked. The others nodded and turned away so that he, Chenle, and Jisung could walk out without feeling uncomfortable. Jisung then snapped his fingers and dressed both himself, Chenle, and Sicheng before they walked back to camp, nice and clean.

~*~*~*~*~

Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung were walking back into camp when they heard shouting coming from Xian Feng’s tent. They looked at one another before they quickly walked over to the tent and pressed their ear against the fabric, careful to not lean on it so that Xian Feng would think that they’re eavesdropping.

“You think your troops are ready to fight? Hah! They would not last a minute against the demons” Xian Feng shouted as Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung listened in.

“They completed their training” Yuta argued back. Xian Feng scoffed.

“Those “men” are no more fit to be soldiers than you are to be Captain. Once the general reads my report, your troops will never see battle” he declared. Sicheng bristled while Jisung glowered.

“How dare he…” he growled.

“Easy Jisung” Chenle soothed. 

~*~*~*~*~

Inside of the tent, Yuta grabbed Xian Feng’s clipboard.

“We're not finished” he snapped. Xian Feng rolled his eyes.

“Be careful, Captain. Your brother may be the Emperor and your uncle may be the General, but I am on the Emperor’s council. And, oh, by the way, huh, I got that job on my own” he sneered before he moved to his tent flap, pushing it up.

“You're dismissed” he stated. Yuta glared at him before he turned and shoved away the tent flap, storming outside.

~*~*~*~*~

As he stormed out of the tent, he forced Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung to quickly retreat from it so that no one would think that they were listening in. As Yuta stormed past them, Sicheng frowned.

“Hey!” he called out. Yuta looked over his shoulder at him, Chenle, and Jisung.

“Are you alright?” he asked, giving Yuta a concerned look. The captain nodded and briskly walked away, just as Jisung nudged Sicheng in the ribs and motioned to Yuta’s back.

“Tell him” he hissed. Sicheng sighed before he looked at Yuta’s back.

“For what it's worth, I think you're a great captain” he called out. Yuta paused and looked back at them again, noticing that Sicheng was smiling fondly at him, Jisung was giving him a thumbs up, and Chenle was nodding encouragingly. He huffed before he continued walking towards his own tent, leaving Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung by themselves. Jisung then looked over at Sicheng and noticed that he was still smiling fondly as he watched Yuta walk away. He shook his head before nudging Chenle in the side, making him look at him with a frown as he motioned to Sicheng and his fond smile.

“Oh hyung…you’ve got it bad” he stated. Sicheng looked over at him and frowned.

“What?” he asked, confused. Jisung motioned to Yuta’s retreating back.

“Chenle and I have eyes, you know. We’re not blind” he stated before he smirked at him.

“You like him” he declared. Sicheng blushed furiously.

“Is it that obvious?” he asked. Chenle and Jisung nodded.

“It’s bad” Chenle replied. Sicheng groaned and ran a hand down his face before he began to walk to his tent, Chenle and Jisung staying behind. He paused and looked over his shoulder.

“Are you guys not coming to bed?” he asked. Jisung shook his head.

“Nah, we’ve got some work to do” he replied, motioning to Xian Feng’s tent. The corners of Sicheng’s mouth lifted in a smirk.

“Just don’t get caught” he reminded. Jisung scoffed.

“Oh please” he replied before he shooed Sicheng away, who just laughed and continued to walk towards his tent while Jisung walked to Xian Feng’s tent, dragging Chenle with him.

~*~*~*~*~

Once Sicheng had walked back to the tent, Chenle and Jisung waited on the side of Xian Feng’s tent for the man to emerge. He soon did, carrying a scrub brush while wearing a towel around his waist and large showering slippers on his feet. Once he left, the two angels quietly slipped inside and Jisung immediately headed for Xian Feng’s desk, pulling out a sheet of parchment. He then took a quill, dipped it in ink, and quickly wrote a letter, which he then handed to Chenle.

“What do you think?” he asked.

_“From General Nakamoto. Dear son, we're waiting for the angels at the pass and it would mean a lot if you'd come and back us up”_ Chenle read aloud. Jisung was quiet for a moment before he snatched sheet out of his hand and crumpled it into a ball before chucking it away from them.

“No” he muttered as he pulled out another sheet of parchment and quickly wrote another letter. He then handed that one to Chenle, who read it over before nodding.

“It’s good” he declared. Jisung beamed before he quickly took Chenle by the wrist and dragged him out of the tent.

~*~*~*~*~

While Jisung and Chenle were slipping out of the tent, Xian Feng was walking back from the river, muttering to himself.

“Insubordinate ruffians” he grumbled before he turned around to face the troops that were in the river, glaring at all of them.

“You men owe me a new pair of slippers!” he shouted, making men laughed. He then turned around and started walking again towards the camp.

“And I do not squeal like a girl” he grumbled under his breath. He suddenly bumped into something solid, making him scream like a little girl. He then spun around to see two soldiers standing before him, their faces covered. In actuality, it was Chenle and Jisung in disguise so that Xian Feng wouldn’t know who they were.

“Urgent news from the general!” Chenle stated, voice low and powerful. Xian Feng frowned as he stared at him, eyeing him up and down.

“Who are you?” he demanded.

“Urgent news from the general” Jisung repeated, holding out the letter. Xian Feng narrowed his eyes before he took the letter and opened it, quickly reading it. While he was reading it, Chenle and Jisung slipped away, walking far enough away so that Xian Feng wouldn’t see then snap their fingers and change back into their training uniforms. Xian Feng looked up and was about to say something when he found that the soldiers were gone. He shook his head before reading the letter once more. His eyes widened and he quickly ran back to camp, heading straight for Yuta’s tent, bursting through the flaps, startling the Prince.

“Captain. Urgent news from the General. We're needed at the front!” he exclaimed. Yuta’s eyes widened and he walked over to Xian Feng to see the letter that the man held in his hands. Outside of the tent, Jisung and Chenle were grinning and high fiving each other.

“We did it!” Jisung exclaimed. Chenle laughed before he nodded.

“Yeah, we did” he agreed before he grabbed Jisung’s hand.

“Come now, let’s get some rest. We have a big day ahead of us” he murmured, pulling him along. Jisung nodded and followed after Chenle as they headed back to their tent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	10. Worth Fighting For

The next morning, Yuta went around and ordered everyone to get up and pack up, for they were heading out to meet General Nakamoto. Sicheng smirked as he packed; of course Chenle and Jisung somehow managed to get them to go to the front. However, he didn’t say anything to the others as he continued to pack his things quietly before heading out of his tent to join the rest of the troops. Once everyone had packed up everything, Yuta gave them the order to move out. 

~*~*~*~*~

While the troops were trudging up the mountainous paths towards Astria, many of the troops were getting tired and irritated. Jisung, Sicheng, Chenle, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, and Jaemin were walking next to each other, all tired and weary, for they had been marching for a few good hours now.

“God, I’ve never had to walk this much in my life” Jisung murmured. The rest of the troops groaned in agreement, all of them slowly resenting that they joined the Imperial Army.

“At least we’ve all got each other. And that’s something worth fighting for” Jaehyun mused as they continued to walk along. Sicheng looked over at him and frowned.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Well, we all found friends within each other and sort of formed a little family. And family is something worth fighting for, isn’t it?” Jaehyun replied. Sicheng’s eyes widened as Jaehyun’s words hit home and he quickly looked away, nodding.

“Yeah” he agreed, voice tight. Jeno noticed the change in his voice immediately and frowned.

“Hyung? Something the matter?” he asked. Sicheng looked over at him, eyes wide and slightly teary, before shaking his head.

“No, everything’s fine” he replied. Jaemin gave him a look.

“Come on hyung, don’t play dumb with us. We know something’s wrong. You can tell us, you know that right?” he asked. Sicheng sniffled and nodded.

“Yeah” he replied. Jaemin then crossed his arms.

“Then what is it?” he asked. Sicheng sniffled again before he sighed.

“I actually took my father’s place in the army…he was the one who’s supposed to be here speaking with you right now” he replied. He then looked over at the other soldiers and waited for them to say something, but they didn’t. They just stayed silent and Taeyong even motioned for him to keep talking.

“He fought in the first war against the angels and during the battle, he was badly injured. I mean, he’s healed now, but he walks slowly and I know he’s in a lot of pain” he continued. Chenle nodded in agreement. 

“If Johnny Seo was to fight in this war, he would have died had Sicheng-ge not stepped in and stole his conscription notice” he explained. 

“Oh Sicheng” Jaehyun murmured as he walked over to the young man and wrapped his arms around him, giving him a hug. Sicheng practically melted into the hug and let out a little sob before he pulled away and wiped his eyes.

“Thanks…I needed that” he murmured. Jaehyun nodded while Jeno titled his head at him.

“So, your entire family is angels, right?” he mused. Sicheng looked over at him and nodded.

“Yeah” he replied. 

“And you’re living a village of demons? And no one has ever found out?” Jaemin asked. Sicheng shook his head.

“Nope. They have no clue” he replied. Everyone was silent at that statement and that silence remained as they continued to trek along. As they continued walking, they passed a rice field, and a few of the soldiers whistled, making the women working look up and wave at the soldiers, wishing them good luck. After walking a little farther, Taeyong looked over at Sicheng.

“Wait a minute, why did you have to steal your father’s conscription notice? You’re male, you could have just taken it” he stated. Sicheng blushed at the statement.

“Well, you see…since I am an angel living in an all demon community, my parents were actually trying to pass me off as a woman so that I wouldn’t have to fight in the war. They knew what the consequences were: death. Death to me and death to them. So I was their only hope and I basically fucked it up at the Matchmakers. But I couldn’t let my father go to war and die so I decided that I would risk exposing myself to save the rest of my family” he explained. The others were quiet before Jaemin clapped a hand on his shoulder.

“You’re a good man, hyung” he praised. Sicheng smiled softly.

“Thank you” he murmured when suddenly all of the other troops ahead of them suddenly stopped.

“What’s going on?” Jisung asked. 

“I don’t know” Chenle replied. As the troops began to spread out, the seven soldiers pushed their way to the front and when they saw the scene before them, they all gasped in shock; an entire village was burned to the ground and as the troops walked through the singed gates, they saw what remained of old houses, shops, inns, and restaurants. 

“Search for survivors” Yuta called out from his horse. Sicheng and the other troops nodded and quickly spread out, hoping that they could at least save someone.

~*~*~*~*~

While the soldiers searched through the ruins, Sicheng broke away and began to walk through a badly burnt part of the village. As he was walking through, something caught his eye: a little doll. He frowned and knelt, picking up the little doll that Kun had held not too long ago and looked up sorrowfully. As he held the doll, Yuta walked over to him and surveyed the destroyed village.

“I don't understand. My father should have been here” he murmured underneath his breath. As they stood in silence, Xian Feng’s voice cut through it like a knife.

“Captain!” he called out. Yuta and Sicheng turned around to look where Xian Feng was pointing. Down in the valley, mixed with bloodied snow, were the remains of General Nakamoto and his troops, the Imperial Flag flapping in the wind. Sicheng’s eyes widened, a look of horror on his face, and he knew that they others must have had the exact same look. Jaehyun suddenly appeared up from the valley, a helmet in his hands, and slowly walked over to Yuta, handing it to him.

“…the General” he murmured softly. Yuta’s eyes widened and his shook his head in disbelief before he walked over to the edge of the hill, drawing his sword from his scabbard. He then stabbed it into the snow, placed the helmet on the sword and knelt down, bowing his head in respect. Sicheng’s heart broke for the captain so he made his way over to try and comfort him.

“I’m sorry” he whispered gently as he neared him. Yuta was quiet for a moment before he stood and turned around, placing a hand on Sicheng’s shoulder as he passed.

“Thank you” he whispered, giving Sicheng’s shoulder a gentle squeeze before he walked back to his horse and pulled himself up into the saddle, looking over the valley one last time, grief flashing across his face.

“The angels are moving quickly. We'll make better time to the Imperial City through the Vauxlan Pass. We're the only hope for the Emperors now. Move out!” he barked. Sicheng looked at the sword bearing General Nakamoto’s helmet one last time before he looked down at the little doll in his hands and placed it at the base, bowing slightly to the memorial before he returned to the rest of the troops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I apologize for the late update, normally I update earlier in the day but I was working on my capstone project since 9:00 this morning and it's been a long day, so I completely forgot about it.
> 
> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	11. The Vauxlan Pass

After they left the burnt down village, the Imperial Army continued through the Vauxlan Pass, hoping to catch Kun before he did any more damage. As they were walking through the pass, a cannon suddenly shot out of the cart attached to Chen Qing and exploded in the air. The troops halted, looking shocked and surprise. Sicheng turned to look back at the cart before looking at the others.

“What happened?” he asked. Before they could answer, Xian Feng and Yuta came charging up to him.

“What happened?!” Yuta shouted angrily. Sicheng looked up at him with wide eyes.

“I don’t know” he replied. Yuta snarled.

“You just gave away our position. Now we’re—” he started when he was cut off by arrow to the shoulder, making him fall off his horse. Sicheng’s eyes widened and he ran over to Yuta, kneeling next to him as he pulled the arrow out of his shoulder. He then looked up into Sicheng’s brown eyes.

“Get out of range!!” he ordered. Sicheng nodded before he quickly stood up and ran away as a multitude of arrows began to rain on their heads. He then ran over to Chen Qing and started to pull on the reigns, trying to get the horse to hurry up when suddenly flaming arrows fell out of the sky and started to hit the cart carrying the cannons, setting it ablaze.

“Save the cannons” Yuta ordered as he stood to his feet. The troops nodded and began to form a human chain, taking cannons out of the burning cart one by one while Sicheng steadied Chen Qing to keep her from bolting. While Sicheng was holding her steady, Jaehyun and Taeyong rushed past the human chain, reached in, and pulled out as many cannons as they could before they ran off. As for the rest of the troops, they grabbed as many cannons as they safely could and once they had gathered everything, Sicheng grabbed his sword from his scabbard and sliced Chen Qing away from the cart, mounting her. He then spurred her side just as the cart exploded, sending both Chen Qing and Sicheng flying, making Sicheng lose his helmet and sword, which landed next to him, conveniently. Chenle and Jisung were also sent flying, landing next to Sicheng with a groan.

“Ow” Jisung hissed as he sat up, rubbing his back. Chenle laid there for a moment before he let out a huff and sat up, clutching his head.

“You guys alright?” Sicheng asked as he pushed himself to his feet.

“I think so ” Chenle groaned as he too pushed himself to his feet before holding out his hand to Jisung, who took it as he helped him to his feet. Sicheng then grabbed his sword and ran towards the rest of the troops, Chenle, Jisung, and Chen Qing following behind. While they were running towards the troops, Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, Jaemin, and the other troops had set up the cannons against the snow-covered rocks, avoiding a set of arrows that were aimed at their heads.

“Fire!” Yuta ordered. The troops nodded and set fire to the cannons, sending a volley at the mountain where Kun’s archers were stationed. As the cannons exploded, Kun’s army hid.

“Fire!” Yuta ordered again. Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaehyun launched a second volley where the archers were stationed and no more arrows flew down the mountain. Just as Jaemin was about to light the last cannon, Yuta held out his hand.

“Hold the last cannon” he ordered. As they waited, Kun and his army appeared at the top of the mountain, armed and ready for battle. Yuta then turned and faced at his troops.

“Prepare to fight. If we die, we die with honor” he declared. Kun then raised his sword above his head and let out a war cry, flying down the mountain towards Yuta’s troops with his army following behind.

“Jaemin, aim the cannon at Kun” Yuta ordered as a line of his troops drew their swords with Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung at the end. Sicheng then looked down at his sword, saw the reflection of a large snow embankment hanging to the side of a cliff, and a thought immediately popped into his head. He then quickly surged forward, pushing Jaemin out of the way as he grabbed the cannon.

“Come on guys!” he shouted as he ran away from the rest of the troops. Jisung and Chenle’s eyes widened before they quickly took off after him.

“Hyung!” Jisung exclaimed as he ran, Chenle at his heels.

“Sicheng! Chenle! Jisung! Come back!” Yuta shouted. The three soldiers ignored him and continued to charge towards the oncoming demon army.

“Stop!” Yuta shouted again as he began to run towards them, waving his arms. Sicheng then suddenly stopped, planted the cannon in the snow, and aimed it at the embankment while Chenle and Jisung stopped on either side of him, looking to where Kun was flying straight towards them.

“Um…hyung, you know, anytime you’d like to light that thing, now would be a good time!” Jisung exclaimed. Sicheng nodded and took out his flint, trying to light the fuse only to have Kun’s falcon swoop down and knock it from his hands. 

~*~*~*~*~

Back with the other troops, Jaemin turned to look at Jeno, Jaehyun, and Taeyong.

“We need to help him” he declared. The four men nodded before they took off towards Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung’s position, following behind Yuta.

~*~*~*~*~

Up on the mountain, Sicheng was desperately searching for the flint in the snow and when he couldn’t find it, Chenle stepped forward, snapping his fingers, creating a small fire on his fingertips. He then placed his fingertips to the fuse and as Kun drew nearer, the cannon fired just above him, making Jisung and Chenle look at Sicheng in shock.

“You missed! How could you miss?” Chenle exclaimed.

“He was three feet in front of you!” Jisung shrieked. Sicheng ignored both them as he looked up to see the cannon lodge in the snow and explode, causing the beginning of a large avalanche. He then looked over at Kun and smirked, watching as the man’s face shifted to one of horror as many of his troops began to be buried alive as the snow fell on top of them, swallowing them up. He then shook his head and collected his thoughts before he looked down at Chenle, Jisung, and Sicheng, growling.

“Yrrrrrrraah” he screamed as he raised his large sword above his head. Chenle, Jisung, and Sicheng’s eyes widened as the sword came down towards them, but Sicheng pushed himself forward, pushing Chenle and Jisung behind him, just as the sword caught him in the side, slicing him. He hissed and pressed a hand to the wound as he looked up at Kun, who was ready to decapitate him when the avalanche suddenly swallowed him up. Sicheng’s eyes widened at the oncoming avalanche and he quickly stood to his feet, grabbing Chenle and Jisung’s hands as he dragged them back to the troops. As they passed by Yuta, Jisung grabbed his wrist and soon the four of them were running back towards the others, praying that they wouldn’t be swallowed by the snow.

~*~*~*~*~

Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaemin raced towards the oncoming avalanche, ready to assist Chenle, Sicheng, and Jisung when they saw the avalanche coming quickly towards them, Yuta, Sicheng, Chenle and Jisung running for their lives away from it.

“Retreat!” Jeno shouted before they too copied Yuta, Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung, running back to the troops.

~*~*~*~*~

While Taeyong, Jaehyun, Sicheng, Jeno, Jaemin, Chenle, Jisung, and Yuta were running back towards the troops, Chen Qing broke away from the troops and ran towards Sicheng until she was at his side. Sicheng let out a breath of relief as he jumped onto her back, pulling Chenle and Jisung up with him. He then reached out a hand to Yuta, both men grabbing each other’s arm before the avalanche rushed forward, breaking their grip, sending Yuta underneath the thick and rolling snow.

~*~*~*~*~

While Yuta was swept underneath the snow, Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaemin were standing behind a large rock when they saw the avalanche approaching. Their eyes widened and they quickly ran for shelter where the rest of the men were positioned, just as the avalanche reached their position and exploded over the rock in a shower of thick snow.

~*~*~*~*~

As the avalanche was still thundering down the mountain, Sicheng rode Chen Qing hard above the snow, Chenle clinging tightly to him while Jisung clung tightly to him, both angels afraid of being swept away. As they were riding into the teeth of the avalanche, the snow suddenly swept over them, burying them for a few seconds before they emerged, gasping for breath. While Sicheng was panting, and gasping for breath, Jisung unwrapped an arm from around Chenle’s waist and reached forward, pinching his uninjured side, gaining his attention.

“Look!” he cried, pointing to where a body was riding the snow. Sicheng narrowed his eyes and stared at the body before his eyes widened in shock.

“Yuta!” he cried out, pulling on Chen Qing’s reigns to get her to turn towards Yuta. They then rode as fast as they could to his position before Chenle and Jisung reached down and pulled the captain up out of the snow and onto Chen Qing’s back, where they placed him in between them, Jisung clinging to him tightly to make sure that he wouldn’t get swept away again and so that he wouldn’t fall off Chen Qing’s back, since she wasn’t exactly built for four people to be riding her. Sicheng then turned Chen Qing around once more and began to ride upstream.

~*~*~*~*~

Back at the troops shelter, Jeno stood with Jaehyun on his shoulder and Jaemin on top of Jaehyun’s shoulder, looking out over the snow.

“Do you see them?” Taeyong called out from where he was standing beside Jeno. Jaemin looked out over the snow with narrowed eyes before he spotted them.

“Yes!” he shouted before he drew his bow and fired an arrow towards them with a rope attached to the end.

“Perfect! Now I'll pull them to safety” he called out as he grabbed the end of the rope and clutched it tightly in his hands as he jumped off of Jaehyun’s shoulders.

~*~*~*~*~

While the arrow was flying towards them, Sicheng was riding Chen Qing through the avalanche with Chenle, Yuta, and Jisung on the horse’s back, Jisung clutching Yuta tightly with one arm as he tried to hold onto Chenle with the other.

“We need help!” Sicheng shouted. Thankfully, Jaemin’s arrow landed in the snow, much to Sicheng’s surprise, but he picked it up anyways and gave it a tug. While he was tugging on the rope, Jisung looked over his shoulder and saw that they were about to go over a cliff into a deep chasm.

“Ahhhhh! Hyung! We're gonna die! We're gonna die!” he screamed, clinging to Chenle’s body tighter. Sicheng just rolled his eyes and tugged on the rope once more.

~*~*~*~*~

Back with the troops, Jaemin felt the tug and his eyes widened.

“Jeno, help me!” he shouted as he began to pull at the rope, trying to pull Sicheng and the others from falling to their deaths. Jeno’s eyes widened and he too began to pull at the rope. Soon Taeyong and Jaehyun joined them and within minutes, they were pulling Sicheng, Chenle, Jisung, Yuta, and Chen Qing to safety. As they were rising in the air, Jisung let out a little laugh.

“I knew we could to it. You’re amazing hyung!” he exclaimed, making Sicheng smile. 

“So cool” Chenle agreed. Sicheng smiled even bigger as they continued to ascend and soon they were on solid ground, Sicheng jumping off Chen Qing’s back before he turned to take Yuta from Chenle and Jisung’s arms. He then placed the captain on the ground and knelt next to him, staring down at him. There was silence as the troops waited for Yuta to wake up, and when he finally did, he groaned and sat up, glaring at Sicheng.

“Sicheng, are you fucking insane?!” he shouted. Sicheng blinked, mouth open in shock, but before he could respond, Yuta smiled fondly at him.

“You must be if you were willing to risk your ass to save mine. From now on, you have my trust” he promised, sincerity lacing his words. Sicheng smiled and Jisung smirked as he and Chenle leaned against Chen Qing’s flank.

“Let's hear it for Sicheng! The bravest of us all” one soldier shouted. All the soldiers shouted and cheered as Yuta pushed himself to his feet before he offered his hand out to Sicheng, helping him to his feet. As soon as he was on his feet, however, white-hot pain shot through his right side.

“GAH!” he cried out as he clutched at his side, hissing in pain. Yuta’s eyes widened and his grip on Sicheng’s hand tightened. 

“Winko! What’s wrong?” he demanded. Sicheng removed his hand from his side, revealing blood that seeped through his armor and stained his hand.

“He saved us from getting killed by Kun” Chenle called out. Yuta looked up at the two angels before he looked at the other soldiers.

“He's wounded, get help!” he commanded. Suddenly, Sicheng’s eyes fluttered before his knees gave out from underneath him and he would have collapsed if Yuta hadn’t caught him. Yuta then slowly lowered him to the ground, still holding onto his hand.

“Winko, hold on. Hold on” he murmured as Sicheng slipped into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	12. A Life for a Life

The next morning, everyone in the camp was tense. After Sicheng had collapsed, he was taken to the medical tent to be tended to while everyone else was to remain outside and wait. Outside, Yuta was pacing pensively, growing more and more irritated when suddenly there was a shout from the tent and the medic exited the tent, fear shining in his eyes. Yuta raised an eyebrow at the medic’s expression and decided to go and see what made the man make such an expression. He pushed back the flaps to the entrance of the tent and froze. Before him sat Sicheng, with his torso wrapped, which is what he expected. What he didn’t expect was the two large white angels wings that were unfurled from behind his back. He stared at Sicheng for a moment longer before he stepped further into the tent, making Sicheng look up at him and as soon as he saw him, fear entered his eyes.

“Sicheng? You’re one of them?” he asked, his voice soft. Sicheng bit his lip and hung his head, not sure how to respond. Before Yuta could ask more questions, Xian Feng entered the tent, eyes narrowed in disgust.

“You” he growled, glaring at Sicheng, who looked up, terror filling his eyes as he stared at the demon. Yuta stared at Sicheng one last time before he turned on his heels and walked out of the tent.

“Yuta!” Sicheng cried out.

~*~*~*~*~

After Yuta had walked outside, Xian Feng followed, dragging Sicheng out of the tent by his hair before tossing him to the ground.

“Disgusting creature” he snarled before he turned to the other troops, who looked confused.

“Angel scum” he declared, pointing to Sicheng. All the troops gasped, save for Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, Jaemin, Jisung, and Chenle.

“Please, I was just trying to save my father. You have to believe me!” Sicheng cried, ignoring Xian Feng as he looked at Yuta, whose back was facing him.

“Spy!” Xian Feng shouted.

“Please, I’ve done no harm” Sicheng pleaded as Xian Feng bent down and got in his face, making him wince.

“Filth!” he spat.

“Please, Yuta, you know me! I would never do anything to hurt you” Sicheng cried. Xian Feng shook his head and turned towards Yuta.

“Captain?” he called out. Yuta said nothing as he walked over to Chen Qing and pulled out Sicheng’s sword from his scabbard, making Lan rear back.

“Restrain her” Xian Feng ordered as Yuta walked towards Sicheng, sword in hand, making Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, Jaemin, Jisung and Chenle quickly run forward.

“Noooooo!” they shouted when Xian Feng held out his hand, halting them.

“You dare defend this angel filth?” he growled. The six soldiers said nothing as they glared at Xian Feng, refusing to answer. While they glared at one another, Yuta walked over to Sicheng, who glanced up at him before bowing his head in anticipation, and raised the sword high over his head before he threw it down in front of him.

“A life for a life. My debt is repaid” he murmured before he turned towards Astria.

“Move out!” he shouted, making Xian Feng storm over to him.

“But you can't just…” he started when Yuta quickly turned and leered in Xian Feng’s face.

“I said, "Move out!”” he growled before he turned away and started walking, the other troops following behind. Xian Feng looked over at Yuta then back at Sicheng before snarling and picking up the sword, storming over to Sicheng.

“If you won’t kill this angel filth, then I will” he shouted as he brought the sword down, making Sicheng look up in surprise and horror.

“NO!” a voice exclaimed, making everyone flinch in surprise as Jaehyun and Taeyong took to the skies, unfurling their wings behind them. Xian Feng’s eyes widened.

“What are you doing?!” he exclaimed. Before anyone could answer, Jaehyun swooped down and tackled him, yanking the sword out of his hands.

“I refuse to let you hurt him” he snarled as he threw the sword away. Xian Feng growled before he and Jaehyun began to scuffle on the ground, Jaehyun having the upper-hand until Xian Feng smashed his fist into the side of his head, making him collapse to the ground, unconscious. Xian Feng then stood up and ran over to the sword, picking up.

“Those who protect angels must die” he growled as he stormed over to Jaehyun, raising the sword above his head. 

**“** **JAEHYUN!”** Taeyong roared before he flapped his metal wings, sending his dagger-like feathers straight towards Xian Feng. Xian Feng quickly dropped the sword and dodged out of the way before he took to the skies, unfurling his own grey wings. He then rushed at Taeyong and the two fought hand to hand in the sky, both men landing powerful punches on one another and at one point, Taeyong threw a punch, his wing following through with it, and actually slashed Xian Feng’s arm. Xian Feng let out a growl of pain before he flapped his wings so that he was slightly above Taeyong before he roundhouse kicked him in the face, sending him to the ground with a crash. Xian Feng grinned darkly as he descended from the sky and walked over to Jaehyun, picking up the sword before he walked over to Taeyong and raised it above his head. As he brought the weapon down, there was a “clang” as it was blocked by another metal weapon. Everyone looked over in shock to see Jaemin blocking the blow with his own sword, his silver wings wide behind his back.

“I don’t think so” he growled as he began to attack Xian Feng, making it difficult for the advisor, for the man had never had to fight using weapons before. After a while, Xian Feng began to strategize what Jaemin’s attack was and when Jaemin moved to attack, Xian Feng countered and slashed the man across the gut, making him fall to the snow. Chenle’s eyes widened and he ran over to him, kneeling next to the man, placing his hand on the wound as a white aura surrounded his hand.

“Jaemin!” Jeno exclaimed before he growled and rushed forward, unfurling his black wings as he tackled Xian Feng to the ground, just like Jaehyun had done. Xian Feng and Jeno fought for a while until Xian Feng played dirty and shot up into the air, front flipping over Jeno so that he landed behind him. He then ran over to Chen Qing, removed Sicheng’s sheath from around her and sheathed the sword before rushing back towards Jeno, using the sheathed sword like a club to smash one of his wings. Jeno let out a cry of pain and every single troop, even Yuta, winced at the pained sound that came out of his mouth. Once Jeno and the rest of the demons were either out of commission or unconscious, Xian Feng turned back to Sicheng, who was looking at his friends on the ground with horror in his eyes, and snarled.

“I will end all filth” he snarled, raising the sword over his head. As he brought the sword down, there was another “clang” as metal blocked metal. Xian Feng looked up in shock to see Jisung standing before him, a bright white aura surrounding him as he clutched an angel sword tightly in his hand.

“Get out of my way” Xian Feng ordered.

**“** **Over my dead body”** Jisung snarled before he attacked Xian Feng viciously, hacking and slashing like none of the other troops had seen before. Xian Feng easily blocked and countered every attack and at one point, Jisung slashed when he should have parried and Xian Feng saw and opening, slashing upwards, creating a deep and serious wound in the man’s chest. Chenle looked up from healing Jaemin and when he saw Jisung bleeding out, he quickly stood to his feet.

“JISUNG!” he screamed. Before he could even get closer to him, Xian Feng just threw out a hand, sending him flying back into a few other soldiers, knocking him and the soldiers on their asses. Xian Feng smirked and nodded slightly before he turned to look back at Sicheng, who was looking around at his dying or unconscious friends with wide horrified eyes, and smiled darkly.

“No one to save you now, angel” he sneered. Sicheng looked up at him and his wide eyes suddenly hardened as they glowed pink and before Xian Feng knew what hit him, Sicheng shot up out of the snow and tackled him to the ground, startling the advisor at the strength of the injured young man. The two continued to fight on the ground, Sicheng landing some rather hard punches before he waved his hand and suddenly an angel blade appeared in it. He then raised it above his head, ready to strike Xian Feng, whom he was holding down by the throat, when felt strong arms wrap around his waist and pull him away.

“Winko! Stop!” Yuta exclaimed, holding the angel tightly in his arms. Sicheng growled and continued to thrash against Yuta’s strong hold but after a while, he just sighed and relaxed into the captain’s arms.

“There you go” Yuta murmured. Sicheng smiled softly before he remembered that Jisung was dying in the snow and the smile immediately fell from his face.

“Yuta—” he started, looking towards Jisung. Yuta looked over at Jisung as well and frowned.

“Go to him” he murmured, releasing his hold on Sicheng’s waist. Sicheng nodded and quickly rushed over to Jisung, kneeling beside him as he placed a hand on his chest.

“Jisung, Jisung, can you hear me?” he asked, a little scared that he might lose the young man. When Jisung didn’t answer, Sicheng let out a little sob before he placed his hands over the wound and shut his eyes.

“Come on, Jisung. Come on” he begged as he tried to heal the angel. Suddenly a white aura shone before his eyes, making him open them to see that there was a white glow underneath his hands, meaning that he was healing Jisung. After a little while, Jisung’s eyes slowly opened and he looked up at Sicheng.

“Hyung” he croaked. Sicheng let out another sob before he took a deep breath.

“Are you okay?” he asked. Jisung nodded before he slowly pushed himself to a sitting position, touching his chest.

“I am now. Thank you” he thanked. Sicheng nodded as Jisung placed a hand over his chest, healing the rest of the wound that Sicheng had partially healed. Once he was healed completely, Sicheng threw his arms around Jisung and hugged him tightly, just as a harsh wind blew through the mountains, making Jisung shiver as he curled closer to Sicheng, who hunched over him, trying to block the wind with his body. Yuta looked at the angel for a moment before he took a deep breath, knowing that he was going against everything that his father had taught him about how angels were dangerous and should be killed on sight, but after watching Jeno, Sicheng, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung fight for Sicheng, it made him think that really, there were some good angels out there in the world. With that thought in mind, he walked over to Sicheng and took off his cloak, draping it over Sicheng’s shoulders, making Sicheng look up at him with wide eyes. Yuta smiled slightly at him before he looked up to see Chenle pushing himself up from the soldiers that Xian Feng knocked him into.

“Are you alright?” he called out to him. Chenle looked up at him and nodded.

“Yes sir” he replied as he quickly rushed over to Jaemin and pressed his hands to his wound, finishing up the healing process. Once he was completely head, Jaemin let out a groan and opened his eyes to see Chenle smiling at him.

“Thank you” he thanked. Chenle smiled.

“You’re welcome” he replied as he held out a hand to him, helping him to his feet.

“Alright Jaemin?” Yuta asked. Jaemin looked over at him and nodded.

“Yes sir” he replied. Yuta nodded before he looked over at Jeno.

“Will he be alright?” he asked.

“He will be in a moment” Chenle answered from behind him as he walked over to Jeno and wrapped his arms around the broken bone, shutting his eyes. Jeno let out a scream as the bone melded itself back together but once it was over, he looked over at Chenle and let out a breath.

“Thank you” he thanked. Chenle nodded in reply while Yuta looked over at Taeyong and Jaehyun.

“What about them?” he asked. Jaemin and Jeno looked over at Jaehyun and Taeyong before they looked back at him.

“Give them a moment” Jeno instructed. Yuta nodded and waited for a moment before Jaehyun and Taeyong groaned and sat up, clutching at their heads. They then pushed themselves to their feet and when they saw one another, they rushed towards one another and hugged the other tightly. They then pulled away slight and turned to see Yuta smiling softly at them, making them quickly separate and stand straight before him.

“At ease. Are you two alright?” Yuta asked. Jaehyun and Taeyong nodded.

“Yes sir” they replied. Yuta nodded.

“Good. Now, let’s move out” he ordered, turning away from them. Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, Jaemin, and Sicheng looked at one another before Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaemin began walking away from Sicheng, Jisung and Chenle. Xian Feng looked at Yuta in shock before he pushed himself to his feet, grabbing at the sword again.

“No! I refuse to let angel scum live!” he shouted, rushing at Sicheng and Jisung with the sword out in front of him. Sicheng looked at the sword coming towards them with horrified eyes and quickly curled around Jisung, ready to take the killing blow, but before Xian Feng could even lay a hand on them, Yuta appeared out of nowhere and tackled Xian Feng to the ground, knocking the sword out of his hands.

“ **ENOUGH! YOU’VE DONE ENOUGH”** he roared, large black leathery wings emerging from his back, his brown eyes glowing silver as he glared down at the man. Xian Feng looked up in absolute fear as Yuta pushed himself to his feet, dragging Xian Feng to his feet as well. He then dragged the advisor away but paused to glance over his shoulder at Sicheng, who was looking back at him with wide eyes. He then opened his mouth to say something when Yuta just shook his head and smiled slightly before turning away, grabbing Xian Feng on his way towards the troops, leaving Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung behind in the snow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	13. To the City

Once the troops left, Sicheng wrapped the cloak tighter around himself as well as Jisung, making sure that he didn’t freeze up on the mountain. He then looked over at Chenle and smiled apologetically.

“I’m sorry, there’s not enough cloak to cover all of us” he apologized. Chenle shook his head.

“I’m fine; it’s Jisung I’m more worried about” he replied. Sicheng nodded before he sighed.

“Was this worth it?” he asked. Jisung and Chenle looked at him with raised eyebrows.

“Was what worth it?” Jisung asked. 

“Joining the army. Taking my father’s place” Sicheng replied. Chenle frowned.

“Do **YOU** think it was worth it?” he replied. Sicheng was quiet for a moment as he thought about his question.

“Yeah…I think it was. I made new friends who understand me, which I wouldn’t have made if I hadn’t joined the army. But I don’t think Yuta will want me back now, since he knows my secret…” he murmured. Jisung hummed as he leaned against Sicheng.

“Yuta might not want you back, but the others might” he murmured. 

“Or who know, maybe Yuta will want you back. You don’t know unless you go after them” Chenle added. Sicheng looked at the two angels and nodded.

“You’re right” he replied as he gently pushed Jisung off of him before pushing himself to his feet, cloak still draped over his shoulders. Jisung eyed him up and down before he snapped his fingers, dressing him in the armor that Taeyong had gifted him.

“Can’t have you looking indecent, now can we?” he teased. Sicheng scoffed and rolled his eyes before he walked over to Jisung and Chenle, throwing his arms around them in a tight hug.

“Thank you for being there for me” he whispered. Chenle and Jisung froze before they wrapped their arms around him and hugged him back just as tightly.

~*~*~*~*~

While they were having their moment, Kun’s falcon flew over the avalanche site when suddenly a hand popped out of the ground and Kun pulled himself out of the snow, shaking the snow off his wings before looking around, fury evident in his eyes.

 **“Rrrrrrraaaaaaaaahhh!”** he screamed, long and loud. As the scream echoed through the mountain, Yangyang, and five other angels suddenly popped out of the snow, joining him. Kun looked at his remaining army before he nodded and headed towards Astria.

~*~*~*~*~

During their moment, Chenle, Jisung, and Sicheng heard Kun’s roar, forcing them to pull apart. They then turned to see Kun and his army flying towards Astria, making them gasp. Sicheng then grabbed his sword out of the snow, mounted Chen Qing, then look over at Chenle and Jisung, who were looking back at him with wide eyes.

“What are you doing?!” Jisung exclaimed. Sicheng motioned to Astria.

“I have to do something!” he snapped back. Chenle and Jisung were quiet for a moment before Chenle unfurled his wings while Jisung hopped up onto the back of Chen Qing.

“What are you doing?! If someone sees you, you might get attacked!” Sicheng exclaimed. Chenle scoffed.

“No one’s gonna see me, Sicheng-ge, I’ll be too far up in the clouds” he stated. Sicheng looked at him before he sighed.

“Alright. Let’s do this” he declared before he spurred Chen Qing in the sides and took off towards the city, Jisung clinging to him tightly. Chenle waited for them to be a few feet ahead of him before he shot high up into the sky, high enough that he was hidden by the clouds, before he followed after Sicheng.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	14. Warning the Others

Down in Astria, the city was holding a parade for Yuta and his troops. Fireworks went off and kites were flying as drummers marched by, followed by the flutist, then followed by the acrobats which were then followed by the Parade Leader, Yuta and his men, and dancers.

“Make way for the heroes of Astria” the Parade Leader called out as Yuta led his men on horseback, sorrowful looks on all of their faces. As the citizens celebrated, Sicheng rode through the crowd and stopped, looking around for Yuta and the others before he found them in the parade.

“Yuta!” he called out as he rode up next to the prince.

“Sicheng?” Yuta exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise. 

“Kun and his army are alive, they're in the city” Sicheng hissed. Yuta frowned.

“What?” he demanded. Sicheng nodded.

“They’re here, they’re alive, and they’re in the city! I saw them!” he exclaimed. Yuta was quiet for a moment before he looked Sicheng in the eyes.

“How do I know I can trust you?” he asked. 

“Because he rode all the way down here to warn you when he could have easily gone home. Does that sound like someone who is not trustworthy?” Jisung demanded, poking his head out from behind Sicheng as Chenle descended next to them. Yuta looked at him before he looked back at Sicheng.

“Warn the others and tell them to keep a sharp eye out” he ordered. Sicheng nodded and waited for the prince to pass before he rode alongside Jaehyun, Jaemin, Taeyong, and Jeno.

“Sicheng! What are you doing here?” Taeyong demanded.

“Kun and his men are here in the city. Yuta told me to tell you to keep a sharp eye out” he replied. Taeyong, Jaemin, Jeno, and Jaehyun nodded before Sicheng turned and rode away, Chenle flying after him.

~*~*~*~*~

Sicheng continued to ride until he stopped by the entrance of the palace, dismounted Chen Qing, and ran into the courtyard.

“Now where the hell are we going?” Jisung exclaimed as he dismounted after him, Chenle landing on the ground beside side of him.

“To warn others” Sicheng called back.

~*~*~*~*~

The parade continued until it stopped in front of the Emperor, who was standing on the steps of the palace. Xian Feng stood next to Yuta and handed him Kun’s sword as the dancers stopped behind him.

“My children, heaven smiles down upon the Middle Kingdom. Astria will sleep safely tonight thanks to our brave soldiers” the Emperor announced to the crowd, making the people cheer.

~*~*~*~*~

In the courtyard, Sicheng was desperately trying to find someone who would listen to his warning.

“Sir, the Emperor is in danger!” he exclaimed. The man looked at Sicheng before he ripped his shoulder away from his touch and moved away. Sicheng’s eyes flashed and he grew agitated. 

“But Kun and his army is here!” he shouted before he shook his head and moved onto the next man.

“Please, you have to help me” he begged. The man moved away and Sicheng let out another exasperated huff before he turned to Chenle and Jisung, who were standing behind him with crossed arms.

“No one will listen!” he exclaimed. Chenle sighed and shook his head.

“Sicheng-ge, no one will listen to you on a night like this” he reminded, making Sicheng groan and run a hand through his hair.

~*~*~*~*~

Up on the steps, Yuta stood before the Emperor and held the sword out to them.

“Your Majesty, I present to you the sword of Kun” he announced as he knelt with the sword above his head. The emperor smiled slightly as he looked at him.

“I know what this means to you, Captain. Your father would have been very proud” he declared. As he moved to grab the sword, Kun’s falcon suddenly appeared out of nowhere and snatched the sword from Yuta’s hand before rising above the roof, dropping it to Kun, who was sitting next to the gargoyles in the shadows, blending in. He rose out of the shadows to catch the sword so that all the people can see his face and the mass of people gasp at the sight of him. Yuta began to draw his sword when all five of Kun’s soldiers appeared out of nowhere, knocking him down before two angels grabbed the Emperor, dragging them into the palace while two more angels began to close the palace doors, Yangyang knocking his arrow as they retreated into the palace to threaten any rescue attempts. Once the doors were closed, Yuta got up from the ground and ran over to the door.

“Your Majesty!” he shouted. Jaemin motioned to the other soldiers.

“C’mon” he urged and all of them ran towards the door, reaching them just as they closed with Kun’s soldiers inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	15. Bow to Me

After Kun’s soldiers locked the palace doors, Yuta and his soldiers grabbed a large stone lion from the steps and began to use it as a battering ram in hopes that the doors would break, but it was no use; there was no way that those doors were going to open. While they were still trying, Sicheng ran up the steps, his eyes widening at the sight.

“They'll never reach the Emperor in time” he muttered to himself before he looked over at the columns. The minute he saw them, an idea popped into his head, causing him to run over to Yuta and the others and whistle loudly, catching their attention.

“Hey guys, I've got an idea” he declared before running towards the columns, where Chenle and Jisung were waiting for him. Jaemin, Jeno, Jaehyun, Taeyong, and Yuta looked at one another before they dropped the statue and followed after Sicheng, much to the astonishment of the other soldiers.

~*~*~*~*~

When the six soldiers reached Sicheng, Chenle, and Jisung, Sicheng unfurling his wings.

“Hope you don’t mind flying, but we don’t exactly have a lot of time” he stated. 

“It’s fine” Taeyong replied as he unfurled his metal wings. The other soldiers did the same before they all shot into the air, hoping to reach the Emperor in time.

~*~*~*~*~

While they were flying up the side the palace, the two angel soldiers bursted through palace doors and arrived with the Emperor on a high balcony within the palace as Kun dropped down from the roof.

“Boo” he teased as he stepped into the balcony next to the Emperor before looking at the two angels.

“Guard the door” he commanded. The two angels nodded and walked down the stairs that lead to the balcony while Kun turned to face The Emperor.

“Your walls and armies have fallen, and now it's your turn. Bow to me” he ordered, pointing his sword at him.

~*~*~*~*~

The two angels walked down the stairs and closed the door, joining Yangyang and the two other angels. While they were standing at the door, around the corner, Sicheng and the others looked at one another.

“Ready?” Sicheng asked. The others nodded as Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jeno, and Jaemin unfurled their wings, eyes glowing; they were ready for a fight. Sicheng unfurled his wings as well before popping his head out from behind the corner.

“Alright, let’s go” he ordered. Jaehyun and Taeyong nodded, walking out first, since they seemed like the more eager ones to start a fight. Jeno and Jaemin then followed behind them, Sicheng following behind them. As they neared the door, the five angel soldiers frowned.

“What are you doing here?” one of the soldiers demanded. Sicheng, Taeyong, Jaehyun, Jaemin, and Jeno said nothing before Jaehyun walked over to Yangyang, placing his hands on either side of the angel’s face, quickly snapping his neck. Taeyong then walked over to another angel and grabbed the man’s face in his hands, squeezing the man’s head until the head exploded and blood spattered everywhere, covering him with blood as the angel’s body collapsed to the floor. He then threw a wing forward, sending his dagger feathers forward, stabbing a third angel through the heart and head. He watched as the angel fell to the ground as if he was nothing, blood pooling from the wounds. Jeno and Jaemin then attacked the final two angels, easily killing them. Jaemin slashed off one’s head with his sword and Jeno stabbed the other through the heart with Sicheng’s blade. Sicheng then ran forward and slammed in the door, holding one side open.

“Yuta, go!” he shouted. Yuta nodded and dashed out of hiding, running through the door and up to stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!
> 
> Also, I just thought that I will let you all know that there will no longer be any updates for Law & Order: NCT because I have deleted it. The reason as to why I've done so is that I simply do not vibe with writing it anymore. Anytime I look at the document, I immediately close it because I just don't want to work on it anymore. And as a writer, you should never have to think to yourself, "I don't like this piece anymore, I don't want to keep working on it". So, to make myself enjoy writing that AU again (because I still love it), I've deleted it and decided to hand it over to my c-drama fandoms, where I _know_ I will be much happier working on it. I'm sure this will probably upset a lot of you and I'm sorry, but at the end of the day, I’m writing for me and if I’m not happy with a certain fic, then I’m going to delete it and rework it until it fits what I like and makes me happy.


	16. Your Worst Nightmare

Kun was still staring at the Emperor, his sword pointed at his throat.

“I tire of your arrogance” he growled as he pushed the tip into the Emperor’s neck, drawing blood.

“Bow to me!” he shouted. The Emperor said nothing as he just calmly looked back at Kun, even though there was a sword in his neck.

“No matter how the wind howls, the mountain cannot bow to it” he replied. Kun snarled.

“Then you will kneel in pieces” he shouted as he drew his sword back to strike when Yuta arrived just in time, blocking the blow with his sword before he attacked. However, Kun just grabbed his arm and threw him towards the edge, expecting him to go flying over. He wasn’t expecting Yuta to grab one of the columns as he flew over the edge and use that moment to swing back and kick him in the chest, making him fall to the floor. Yuta then launched himself at the man, punching him in the face before Kun grabbed his shoulders and rolled over, forcing him onto his back underneath him. Before Kun could even touch him, Yuta used his knee and kicked Kun in the gut before he struck him in the chin with the palm of his hand. When Kun was thrown off balance, Yuta surged forward and forced Kun onto his back and grabbed his arm, pulling them behind his back as Sicheng, Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaemin entered the balcony from the stairs.

“Jaehyun, the Emperor” Sicheng ordered. Jaehyun nodded and walked over to the Emperor, bowing.

“Sorry, your Majesty” he apologized before he lifted the Emperor into his arms and ran over to the balcony, unfurling his wings before he jumped off, the Emperor clutched tightly in his arms. Kun watched him fly away with the Emperor in his arms, eyes widening in horror.

“No!” he shouted before he used his free arm to uppercut Yuta with his elbow. When Yuta’s head snapped back, Kun got to his feet, head-butted him, then threw him to the ground; Yuta collapsing like a limp ragdoll. Sicheng watched as he fell before he looked over the edge at Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaemin, who had taken off at some point during the fight.

“Sicheng! Come on!” Taeyong called out, motioning for Sicheng to follow. Sicheng looked down at them before he looked back at Yuta, biting his lip in indecision. He then looked over at Kun, who was approaching him with glowing red eyes. He gulped and waited for him to get a little closer before he ducked out of the way and ran over to Yuta as Kun slashed at his head, embedding his sword in the column. 

“Damn it!” Kun shouted before he looked down at the crowd, realizing that he couldn’t find the Emperor among the throng of people.

 **“Yrraaaaahhhh!”** he roared, silencing the crowd below, before he turned and looked back at Sicheng, who was cradling an awaking Yuta in his arms. Kun snarled and yanked his sword out of wooden column and stormed towards Sicheng and Yuta, eyes burning with hatred. When Yuta saw him approaching, he put his arm in front of Sicheng, silently asking him to leave. Sicheng nodded and slipped away as Yuta unsheathed a knife that he had hidden on his person and pointed it at Kun. Kun scoffed as he smacked the knife out of his hands, slapped him in the face, then grabbed him by the shirt collar.

“You, you took away my victory” he shrieked in Yuta’s face. 

“No! I did!” Sicheng suddenly shouted, unfurling his wings as his eyes glowed pink. Kun’s eyes widened.

“The soldier from the mountains” he whispered in amazement as he dropped Yuta and started after Sicheng, who ran down the stairs and through the doors that led to the balcony. He then slammed the doors shut and closed the latch right behind him, leaning against the doors, catching his breath. He didn’t have very long, however, because Kun punched a hole in the door, making him jump in fright before he bolted down the corridor. As he was running, Chenle and Jisung appeared out of thin air beside him, running with him.

“What’s the planning, Sicheng-ge?” Chenle asked.

“Umm…” Sicheng started, blanking.

“You don’t have a plan?!” Jisung exclaimed. Sicheng huffed.

“Look, I’m just making this up as I—” he started when he paused and looked out the window, noticing the firework tower.

“—go” he trailed off. He then looked back at Chenle and Jisung.

“Guys—” he started when Chenle held up a hand.

“Way ahead of you” he replied before he motioned with his head to Jisung to follow him as he jumped up on the windowsill and unfurled his wings, jumping up into the sky and flying towards the fireworks tower. Jisung nodded and snapped his fingers, transporting himself over to the fireworks tower, since he didn’t have his wings yet.

~*~*~*~*~

While Sicheng was watching his friends fly towards the tower, Kun broke through the barred doors and rushed to catch up with Sicheng, swinging his sword wildly as he cut through pillars with every swipe. Sicheng’s eyes widened as he ran and dodged every blow before climbing up a pillar to get out of his reach. Kun snarled before he sliced the base of the pillar, causing it to fall and break through the wall, making Sicheng scream as the beam fell and came to a stop. He then took a deep breath before he unfurled his wings and shot into the sky, looking over to his left to see Chenle and Jisung arriving at the fireworks tower.

~*~*~*~*~

Chenle and Jisung landed near the firework lighters on the edge of the tower, startling the two men.

“We need firepower” Jisung declared. One of the men looked at him with terrified eyes.

“Who are you?” he asked. Chenle and Jisung smiled as their eyes began to glow white and Chenle unfurled his wings from his back.

“Your worst nightmare” Chenle growled. The two men let out screams of fear before they jumped off the tower and plunged toward the ground, probably towards their death.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	17. Saved Us All

After making sure that Chenle and Jisung got into the fireworks tower, Sicheng landed on the roof, unfurling his wings wide to keep his balance. Down below, some of the people in the crowd noticed and began pointing it out.

“On the roof” one man called out. 

“Look!” another cried out. While they were pointing and gawking at him, Sicheng lined up where he was standing with the fireworks tower across the way, just as Kun broke through the roof, startling him. He quickly backed away and began searching his person for something to help him defend himself against Kun. The only thing that he found was a fan, but it was better than nothing, so he took it out and opened it, making Kun laugh.

“It looks like you're out of ideas” he sneered as he lunged forward with his sword, only to have Sicheng dodge to his right as the sword went through the paper of the fan before he folded it back up and twisted it hard with both hands, making Kun lose his grip. The sword then flew towards Sicheng and he caught it with ease, slipping the fan off with a swift flick of the wrist.

“Not quite” he snarled before he looked over Kun’s shoulder at Chenle and Jisung, who landed behind the man.

“Ready guys?” he called out.

“Ready hyung!” Jisung shouted back from behind a large firework as Chenle snapped his fingers and created fire on his fingertips, just like he had done before with the cannon, before lighting the fuse.

“Fire in the hole!” he shouted as Kun stalked towards Sicheng, growling. Using the sword as a lever, Sicheng lunged at Kun and kicking him in the face before dropping to the ground, sweep kicking at his ankles, making him fall back onto the roof. He then picked up the sword and stabbed it into Kun’s cape as the rocket hurled toward them. When Sicheng saw the approaching rocket, he quickly laid flat on the side of the roof while Kun tried to run, only to find that he couldn’t move since Sicheng had pinned him to the roof. The rocket then hit him square in the belly, propelling him toward the firework tower. Once Kun was away from them, Sicheng quickly unfurled his wings and shot up into the air, motioning for Chenle and Jisung to follow him as he began to fly away from the firework tower.

“Get off the roof, get off the roof, get off the roof” he repeated to himself as the rocket rode Kun into the fireworks tower, causing masses of explosions and fireworks to fly everywhere. The explosion was so great that it knocked Sicheng out of the sky and caused him to fall to the ground, but thankfully he crashed into Yuta, who broke his fall as they both fell to the ground, Kun’s sword landing nearby. Jisung and Chenle were also knocked out of the sky, but Jisung just grabbed Chenle and held him tightly as they crashed onto the ground, Jisung letting out an “oof” as they landed.

“You okay?” Chenle asked, looking at him in concern. Jisung looked at him and nodded, smiling.

“I’m good” he replied before he laughed softly.

“That was awesome” he breathed. Chenle laughed as well, resting his head on Jisung’s chest.

“Yeah, yeah it was” he agreed.

~*~*~*~*~

After Sicheng had landed on Yuta in the explosion of the fireworks tower, he pushed himself to his feet before he looked down at Yuta and held out his hand. 

“Sorry for crashing into you” he apologized. Yuta shook his head as he took Sicheng’s hand and pulled himself to his feet with his help.

“Don’t worry about it. Glad I could break your fall” he replied with a small smile. As the two men smiled at one another, Xian Feng walked down the stairs in a slightly singed and tattered outfit.

“That was a deliberate attempt on my life. Where is he? Now he's done it. What a mess” he shouted. Yuta and his troops quickly pushed Sicheng behind them to protect him as Xian Feng walked straight up to Yuta, glaring at him.

“Stand aside, that creature's not worth protecting” he growled. Yuta glared right back at him.

“He's a hero” he snarled. Xian Feng scoffed.

“Tis demon scum. He will never be worth anything” he sneered. Yuta snarled and grabbed Xian Feng by the shirt collar.

“Listen, you pompous—” he started.

“That is enough!” the Emperor boomed as he walked down the steps, Yuta taking a step towards him.

“Your Majesty, I can explain” he started when he motioned for him to stand aside. Yuta blinked before he and his men parted, giving the Emperor a clear path to Sicheng, who stepped forward and bowed low. Xian Feng, with a sinister look, waited behind the Emperor to write down his words.

“I've heard a great deal about you, Sicheng. You stole your uncle’s armor, ran away from home, deceived your commanding officer, dishonored the Imperial army, destroyed my palace!” he exclaimed, motioning to the burning building. Sicheng winced and kept his head down, waiting for the final blow. As he kept his head bowed, the Emperor smiled fondly before he swept out his arms.

“AND...you have saved us all” he declared before he bowed to Sicheng. Xian Feng looked at the Emperor’s actions astonishingly before he immediately fell prostrate before Sicheng as Yuta, Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaemin followed suit, bowing low to him.

Sicheng looked up in shock before he turned around, hardly believing what he was seeing as the entire population of Astria within the palace grounds fell prostrate on the ground in a wave like pattern, bowing to him. Chen Qing bowed as well while Chenle and Jisung sat on her back, both men clapping and cheering loudly with pride.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!


	18. Heroes of Astria

After bowing to the young man, The Emperor stood up and looked over his shoulder at his advisor.

“Xian Feng” he called out, making the man quickly stand up and appear at him side in an instant.

“Your Excellency?” he asked. The Emperor motioned to Sicheng.

“See to it that this man is made a member of my council” he ordered. Xian Feng nodded.

“A member of your coun…” he muttered to himself before he realized what the Emperor just said.

“W-what? But there are no council positions open, your Majesty” he replied with a sly smile. The Emperor then shrugged.

“Very well then; you can have his job” he stated to Sicheng, pointing to Xian Feng, whose eyes widened in shock.

“What? My…" he whispered before he fainted. Sicheng smiled wide before turning to the Emperor, bowing.

“With all due respect, Your Excellency, I have been away from home long enough” he replied. The Emperor nodded as he took off his pendant and placed it around Sicheng’s neck.

“Then take this, so your family will know what you have done for me” he stated before he handed him the sword of Kun.

“And this so the world will know what you have done for Astria” he added. Sicheng took the gifts and looked at them in shock before he smiled and threw his arms around the Emperor, hugging him. Jaemin raised an eyebrow.

“Is he allowed to do that?” he asked. Yuta, Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Jeno shrugged in reply. Sicheng then walked away from the Emperor and was embraced by Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaemin before he walked over to Yuta, stopping in front of him.

“Well…um…thank you” Yuta murmured. Sicheng raised an eyebrow.

“For what?” he asked. Yuta motioned to the kingdom.

“For saving us. All of us” he replied. Sicheng shrugged his shoulders before he smiled.

“Just doing my job” he replied before he looked into Yuta’s eyes.

“Like I said before, for what it’s worth, I think you’re a great captain” he stated before he leaned in and pressed a kiss to Yuta’s cheek. He then walked over to Chen Qing and mounted her, Jisung and Chenle scooting back so that Sicheng could take the reins.

“Chen Qing, let's go home” he whispered in the horse’s ear. Chen Qing reared on her hind legs before she galloped down the stairs and into the crowd, heading home. As Sicheng, Jisung, and Chenle headed home, the Emperor approached Yuta and cleared his throat, startling him out of his staring.

“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and beautiful of all” he stated, looking out at the horizon. Yuta looked over at him, dumbfounded.

“What?” he asked. The Emperor smirked.

“I may not like angel, but you don't meet a man like that ev'ry dynasty” he declared before he turned on his heels and walked back up the steps to his palace. 

~*~*~*~*~

Back home, Johnny was sitting underneath the cherry tree as a cherry blossom fell and landed on his leg. While he looked at the blossom sadly, Sicheng appeared at the threshold and moved toward him. As he walked closer, Johnny looked up and saw him approaching, eyes widening as he started to stand.

“Sicheng” he murmured, completely stunned. Sicheng quickly moved in front of him and kneeled, which caused Johnny to sit back down.

“Father, I brought you the sword of Kun” he started, handing the sword to Johnny. 

“And the crest of the Emperor” he continued, handing the crest of the Emperor to Johnny as well. He then bowed his head.

“They're gifts to honor the Seo Family” he murmured. Johnny took the gifts and looked at them for a moment before he threw them down to the ground beside him and bent down, holding Sicheng tightly in his arms.

“The greatest gift and honor, is having you for a son” he murmured as he pulled back and wiped away Sicheng’s tears.

“I've missed you so” he whispered. Sicheng sniffled.

“I've missed you too Father” he replied.

~*~*~*~*~

From the doorway, Hendery, Ten, and Xiaojun watched.

“Ahhh” Ten and Xiaojun sighed happily. Hendery rolled his eyes.

“Great, he brings home a sword. If you ask me he should have brought home a ma—” he started but his words fell short and his mouth hung open when he saw Yuta walk into the garden. Yuta looked around appreciatively before he noticed Hendery, Xiaojun, and Ten and walked over to them.

“Excuse me, does Dong Sicheng live here?” he asked. Hendery’s mouth stayed open as he, Xiaojun, and Ten pointed toward where Sicheng was. Yuta nodded as walked toward Sicheng and Johnny. 

“Woo, sign me up for the next war” Ten teased as he watched Yuta walk over to Sicheng and her husband. 

~*~*~*~*~

Inside the garden, Yuta walked up and bowed before Johnny, speaking confidently.

“Honorable Johnny Seo, I—” he started when Sicheng stepped forward and when he saw him, a rare smile broke across his face.

“Winko” he greeted. Sicheng smiled.

“Yuta. Something I can do for you?” he asked. Yuta held out the helmet.

“You forgot this” he explained. Sicheng smiled and took the helmet from his hands before handing it over to his father. He then looked back at Yuta and smiled.

“Would you like to stay for dinner?” he offered. Yuta raised an eyebrow in surprise.

“Would you like to stay forever?” Xiaojun called out from the doorway. Sicheng turned towards his brother-in-law in shock before he looked away, embarrassment burning on his cheeks. Yuta let out a chuckle before he reached out and touched Sicheng’s cheek, making the man look at him with wide eyes.

“Dinner would be great” he murmured.

~*~*~*~*~

High in the sky, Renjun was watching with Chenle and Jisung as Sicheng and Yuta talked.

“What did I tell you? I told you I would save Sicheng” Jisung declared happily. Renjun groaned. 

“Yes, yes you did” he grumbled. Jisung then nudged him.

“I think someone owes me an apology and a pair of wings” he teased. Renjun turned towards him and his eyes widened.

“Absolutely not!” he exclaimed. Jisung looked at him in shock while Chenle slowly turned towards him, eyes glowing white as he pulled out his angel sword and pointed it at him.

“I think you owe him an apology. _And_ a pair of wings” he snarled. Renjun gulped before he nodded.

“Oh alright…I’m sorry for doubting you” he grumbled. Jisung beamed.

“Now, about those wings…” he started. Renjun rolled his eyes before he sighed and snapped his fingers, finally giving Jisung his wings. Jisung let out a squeal of joy before he threw his arms around Renjun, hugging him tightly.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” he thanked loudly before he looked over at Chenle.

“Chenle, look! I got my wings! I’m a guardian angel” he exclaimed. Chenle smiled fondly and nodded.

“So you are” he replied.

~*~*~*~*~

While Sicheng and Yuta were still talking in the garden, they heard a throat clearing from behind them, making them both turn to see Jaehyun, Taeyong, Jeno, and Jaemin standing before them.

“Got room for a few more at that dinner you’re planning?” Taeyong asked. Sicheng let out a laugh before he ran over to the other soldiers and threw his arms around them.

“Of course!” he exclaimed before he pulled away and looked at them.

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Follow you home. Sounds a little creepy, we know, but –” Jaehyun started when Sicheng shook his head.

“No, it’s totally fine! I can’t wait to introduce you to my family” he explained as Yuta walked over to him and wrapped an arm around his waist.

“And we can’t wait to meet them either” he declared. Sicheng blushed slightly, just as Chenle and Jisung descended from the sky.

“Hey!” Jisung called out, making everyone turn to look at him and Chenle.

“Guess who got his wings?” he asked as he flapped his new wings. Sicheng gasped and let out a little laugh and ran over to him, throwing his arms around him in a hug, just like how he had the others.

“Jisung, that’s amazing!” he exclaimed. Jisung smiled and shrugged.

“Well, it’s all thanks to you that I got them” he replied. 

“And without you, some of us wouldn’t be here” Jaemin called out, making Sicheng, Jisung, and Chenle look over at him and the others.

“You all are very important and I hope you know that” Jeno added. Jisung stared at him with wide eyes while Chenle just ducked his head, a slight tinge on his cheeks. 

“Oh, well, um…thank you” Jisung murmured, not sure what else to say. Sicheng chuckled at his loss of words before he began to walk towards his home, pausing to look back at the other.

“Come on. This way” he instructed as he continued to walk again. Jisung then unfurled his wings as he flew after him.

“Excuse me, pardon me, heroes of Astria coming through” he teased as he landed next to him. Sicheng just looked over at him and rolled his eyes while Yuta unfurled his wings and flew after Sicheng and Jisung, landing on the other side of Sicheng.

“Heroes of Astria?” he repeated. 

“Yeah. That’s what we are” Jisung replied as he motioned to himself and the others, who had unfurled their wings and had flown after the trio.

“Has a nice ring to it” Jaehyun murmured. 

“Oh, don’t start” Taeyong grumbled, shaking his head.

“I rather like it” Jaemin mused. 

“It is quite nice” Jeno agreed before he looked over at Chenle.

“What say you, Chenle?” he asked. Chenle shrugged and nodded.

“It’s fitting” he replied. Sicheng just rolled his eyes before he unfurled his wings and took to the air, since it was a rather long walk back to the house.

“Come on, “Heroes of Astria”, dinner’s gonna get cold” he stated. Yuta and the others laughed before they unfurled their wings and flew after him, the seven soon bursting into a fit of giggles at the absurdity that they had just saved Astria. They were just a bunch of misfits who didn’t belong and yet they came together and saved the entire country from being taken over by a psychopath. And that was pretty damn amazing, if you actually cared to think about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!

**Author's Note:**

> New story! Hope you guys enjoy this story! Please don't hesitate to leave comments, kudos, bookmark, and subscribe!
> 
> Also, I'm sure you're wondering where the hell the Law & Order: NCT update is. It's coming, I've just been busy with school as well as working with other fics/fandoms. Please be patient (even though I know you are all super kind and patient with me)


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